dnlmtial ISjiatnry 

Hpnjamin JfrankUtt 21a jFayrttp 
Paul ®dtrrp '{ (UnUmial 
Ndtilwry •{ (Srorutau 




- - * 7 *, 















































\ 




A PROPOS 


In presenting this abstract of the life of Benjamin Franklin on the occasion 
of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, it is pertinent to note that an 
occurrence in the early history of Newbury, from which Newburyport — the 
home of the manufactures herein illustrated — was later set off, was of mate r ial 
assistance to Franklin in the confirmation of his discovery of the identity of 
lightning and electricity; as will be seen by the following extract from one of 
his letters to M. Dalibard of Paris, subsequently read before the Royal Society 
of London, and to be found in Bigelow’s Works of Benjamin Franklin. 

The church referred to stood in what is now Market Square, Newburyport, 
and was struck by lightning February ninth, 1754. 


I thank you for communicating M. de Buffon’s relation of the effect of lightning at 
Dijon, on the 7th of June last. In return, give me leave to relate an instance I lately 
saw of the same kind. Being in the town of Newbury, in New England, in Novem¬ 
ber last, I was shown the effect of lightning on their church, which had been struck 
a few months before. The steeple was a square tower of wood, reaching seventy feet 
up from the ground to the place where the bell hung, over which rose a taper spire, 
of wood likewise, reaching seventy feet higher, to the vane of the weather-cock. Near 
the bell was fixed an iron hammer to strike the hours; and from the tail of the ham¬ 
mer a wire went down through a small gimlet-hole in the floor that the bell stood upon, 
and through a second floor in like manner; then horizontally under and near the 
plastered ceiling of that second floor, till it can^e near a plastered wall; then down 
by the side of that wall to a clock, which stood about twenty feet below the bell. The 
wire was not bigger than a common knitting needle. The spire was split all to pieces 
by the lightning, and the parts flung in all directions over the Square in which the 
church stood, so that nothing remained above the bell. 

The lightning passed between the hammer and the clock in the above-mentioned 
wire, without hurting either of the floors, or having any effect upon them (except mak¬ 
ing the gimlet-holes, through which the wire passed, a little bigger), and without 
hurting the plastered wall, or any part of the building, so far as'the aforesaid wire and 
the pendulum-wire of the clock extended ; which latter wire was about the thickness 
of a goose-quill. From the end of the pendulum, down quite to the ground, the build¬ 
ing was exceedingly rent and damaged, and some stones in the foundation-wall torn 
out and thrown to the distance of twenty or thirty feet. No part of the aforementioned 
long small wire, between the clock and the hammer, could be found, except about two 
inches that hung to the tail of the hammer, and about as much that was fastened to 
the clock; the rest being exploded, and its particles dissipated in smoke and air, as 
gunpowder is by common fire, and had left only a black smutty track on the plastering, 
three or four inches broad, darkest in the middle and fainter towards the edges, all 
along the ceiling, under which it passed, and down the wall. These were the effects 
and appearances on which I would only make the following remarks, viz.: — 

1. That lightning, in its passage through a building, will leave wood to pass as far 
as it can in metal, and not enter the wood again till the conductor of metal ceases. 
And the same I have observed in other instances, as to walls of brick or stone. 

2. The quantity of lightning that passed through this steeple must have been very 
great, by its effects on the lofty spire above the bell, and on the square tower, all be¬ 
low the end of the clock-pendulum. 

3. Great as this quantity was, it was conducted by a small wire and a clock-pendu¬ 
lum, without the least damage to the building so far as they extended. 

4. The pendulum rod, being of a sufficient thickness, conducted the lightning with¬ 
out damage to itself ; but the small wire was utterly destroyed. 

5. Though the small wire was itself destroyed, yet it had conducted the lightning 
with safety to the building. 

6. And from the whole it seems probable that, if even such a small wire had been 
extended from the spindle of the vane to the earth before the storm, no damage would 
have been done to the steeple by that stroke of lightning, though the wire itself had 






been destroyed 


B. Franklin. 


2? 






















































r 




Compiled by George P. Tilton of the 
Towle Mfg. Co., from the 


Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 

EDITED BY JOHN BIGELOW 
Franklin’s Published Essays and Documents 


The Pennsylva?iia Gazette 
Poor Richard's Almanac 


AND THE 


Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin 

By JAMES PARTON 
OTHER WORKS CONSULTED: 

Works of Benjamin Franklin, Etc. 

By Jared Sparks 

The Manysided Franklin 
By Paul Leicester Ford 

The True Benjamin Franklin 
By George Sydney Fisher 

Old Newbury 
By John James Currier 


'llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 


Copyrighted, 1905, by 
Towle Mfg. Company 


Gift 

Puhli sher 


Press of Springfield Printing and Binding Company, Springfield. Mass. 












































Jan*y 6 
. 1706 , 


ffitnjamin ;]franftlfn. 


Born January 6, 1706. 


Two hundred years ago, with little appreciation of its importance to the 
world, the life of Benjamin Franklin began. The home into which he was 
born was comfortable and the family eminently worthy, but it was entirely lack¬ 
ing presumption of the genius that the alchemy of humanity had compounded 
of greatness and goodness, energy, ingenuity and sagacity, in fact with some 
subtile tincture of all the elements of wisdom and strength, not utterly devoid of 
faults, but altogether unique in history and opportune in its bestowal. 

The Franklin house stood on Milk street, Boston, nearly opposite the 
historic Old South Meetinghouse, and in accordance with the requirements of 
the religious belief of that time he was, on the day of his birth, Sunday, carried 
to the church by his mother and baptized. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a 
candle-maker of sufficient means to bring up in comfort his large family of 
children, but he was obliged to forego his plan of educating Benjamin for the 
ministry, and two years’ schooling between the ages of eight and ten constituted 
the sum of his official intellectual guidance. This but opened the door to the 
stores and fields of knowledge that Franklin by ardent application was to make 
his own, and its brevity enhances the triumph of his achievement. When, 
therefore, at the age of ten, economic reasons prevailed, thoughts of a higher 
education gave way to candle-making in his father’s employ. The monotonous 
details of this work proved little to his taste, however, and his awakening im¬ 
pulses inclined him to seek adventure by running away to sea, a prospect that 


Tfrtwr ana a STvaac art a (fffjua’s 

beet portion. Poor Richard. 






































































































































£!>e jjrfnter'a ^ujirentfct 


has allured generations of boys before and since. His father became aware of 
this, and to enable him to make choice of a more congenial occupation, took 
him to visit various places that he might observe workmen at different trades. 
He seemed most attracted by the work of his cousin Samuel, a cutler who had 
recently come from London and set up a shop in Boston. Samuel Franklin 
took him for mutual trial, but the arrangement miscarried and Franklin was 
then apprenticed to his brother James who was just getting established in the 
printing business. Franklin had read with precocious interest Bunyan’s Pil¬ 
grim’s Progress, Plutarch’s Lives, and a few religious books that his father 
possessed, and the work that he now entered upon fostered his taste for study 
by putting him in the way of access to a greater range of authors, by which he 
profited immediately and signally. One of the first evidences of his maturing 
thought was a series of letters over the pseudonym of “Silence Dogood” which 
he contributed clandestinely to the “New England Courant ,” a newspaper 
established by his brother in 1720. This paper sought popularity by attacking 
and ridiculing established authority, especially in matters of religion, after having 
secured its subscribers by announcement of a contrary course, and the Silence 
Dogood articles by their free and sceptical character attracted a degree of atten¬ 
tion quite incommensurate with the profundity of the writer who, notwithstand¬ 
ing the curiosity and speculation aroused, was able to maintain completely the 
secret of their authorship until his complacency over their success got the better 
of his caution. The trend of his thought toward religion, and the indepen¬ 
dence of his attitude and deductions, continued all through life and may possi¬ 
bly be summed up as deism, in turn combative, destructive, tolerant, friendly. 
He never scoffed at worship of an omnipotent God, although some of his 
writings were so interpreted by lesser intellects bound between the walls of 
narrow creed and convention. His religion was of constant and real service 
to himself, and after the repudiation of some of his early sophistry brought 
him the respect of eminent representatives of every creed. The following from 
the Courant is typical of his irreverent, though not necessarily sacrilegious, 


parents antr Instructors ran 

wtoer fce rcgnCtctL Poor Richard. 















































































































^rrftoal in pi)ilalrcinl)ta 


treatment of biblical subjects, and it is easy to understand the contempt it en¬ 
gendered in such a Puritan community: 

“In old Time it was no disrespect for Men and Women to be called by 
their own Names: Adam was never called Master Adam; we never read of 
Noah Esquire , Lot Knight and Baronet , nor the Right Honorable Ahraham , 
Viscount of Mesopotamia, Baron of Canaan; no, no, they were plain Men, 
honest Country Grasiers, that took care of their Families and Flocks. Moses 
was a great Prophet, and Aaron a priest of the Lord; but we never read of the 
Reverend Moses, nor the Right Reverend Father in God Aaron, by Divine 
Providence, Lord Arch-Bishop of Israel; Thou never sawest Madam Rebecca 
in the Bible, my Lady Rachel: nor Mary, tho’ a Princess of the Blood after 
the death of Joseph , called the Princess Dowager of Nazareth.” 

It is inconceivable that such a sheet, embodying all the sensationalism 
characteristic of the most vulgar of its present day successors with a reckless¬ 
ness they dare not aspire to, could long continue without bringing trouble upon 
its sponsors, and in due course retribution overtook this one through the Great 
and General Court of Massachusetts, and James Franklin was imprisoned in 
jail for a month, being released only after humble apology. He was also en¬ 
joined from further publication of the Courant y but the paper was continued 
by Benjamin while the proprietor was in jail, and upon the expiration of James’ 
sentence this arrangement was given a legal form to evade the state edict. In 
order to accomplish this it was necessary to annul Benjamin’s indenture, as other¬ 
wise his liability would have reverted to James, but the latter retained a measure 
of hold on his brother through secret articles of similar import. This expedient 
in the end served Benjamin better however, as James was so unwise as to disturb 
the prosperity that followed the elevation of the former by quarreling with and 
severely beating him. With a knowledge that James was in no position to 
enforce a claim on his services, and after giving him warning to this effect, 
Benjamin determined to sever the ties of home and family and work out his 
destiny with an independence compatible with his mental development. 


& jfine t&enius in f )iu <£ton (Zountvg 

is I UUt <£oUr in tin iMint. Poor Richard. 












































































































































®J)C 2LICc ana 


StvUitts of 



By selling some of his books he raised a little money, and making a 
fictitious intrigue of which he pretended to fear the consequences an excuse for 
secrecy, he took passage on a sloop for New York, where in due course he 
arrived and undertook to secure employment. He applied to Mr. William 
Bradford, a famous printer, but the best that gentleman could do for him was to 
suggest that he call on his son, also a printer, in Philadelphia, whom he thought 
was in need of help. So Franklin set out in a small boat for Amboy, New Jersey, 
from which place he was to make his way to Burlington on the Delaware, and 
from thence by boat again to Philadelphia. The trip across the bay at New 
York proved disastrous, the boat being driven to the Long Island shore in a 
squall and barely saved from wreck by fortunate anchoring. Here they were 
obliged to stay over night exposed to a severe storm, wet and without food. 
One of the party, a Dutchman under the influence of liquor, fell overboard and 
was saved by Franklin as he was going down the third time. They reached 
Amboy the next day thoroughly exhausted and Franklin went to bed in a high 
fever. His strong constitution, aided by his faith in the efficacy of lib¬ 
eral draughts of cold water, enabled him to rise in his usual health the next 
morning, and he started on foot for Burlington, which he reached after 
nearly three days of tramping, the first in a driving rain, which put his courage 
to a severe test and reduced him to somewhat the appearance of a vagabond. 
He was fortunate enough to find a small boat that was to leave for Philadel¬ 
phia that night, and after a hearty meal he embarked to spend the most of the 
night at the oars. The misfortune of the earlier stage of the journey attended 
him to its end; the party lost its reckoning and fearing that the city had been 
passed unknowingly, drew up at the shore and gathered around a small fire until 
dawn revealed their destination a short distance below. 

Though the determination to run away from home is most frequently arrived 
at through a boy’s immature consideration of conditions, existing and anticipa¬ 
ted, there can be little question of the wisdom, in Franklin’s case, of this recourse. 
He was by temperament antagonistic to the Puritan atmosphere of Boston, and 
his continued criticism of an unalterable situation would have hampered his 
independence and restricted his opportunities, while the necessity for prudence, 
engendered by his precarious footing in new surroundings—even though the 
people were freer of thought and content to take him as they found him—was 
certain to recommend sobriety of expression. It was in fact with an added 
sense of the seriousness of life that Franklin 
arrived at Philadelphia on that eventful Sunday 
morning in October, 1723. The picture of a 
dirty and disheveled boy of seventeen years, his 
necessary change of shirt and stockings bulging 
his pockets, with a large loaf under each arm, 
and in his hand a third which he munched with 
calm indifference while walking the streets in ran¬ 
dom exploration, is familiar through many render¬ 
ings and is easily preeminent, although his after 
life abounded in striking tableaux. With a gen¬ 
erosity that was always attendant upon his frugality, 
he gave the two loaves remaining after he had eaten 
enough, to a needy woman and her child, who had 
been fellow passengers the night before, and then 
wandered into a Quaker meeting, where the 



Franklin s Watch . 


tfjat ntbtv Sats too tnuctj 

tout ntiytv Oc Poor Richard. 



















Benjamin 




JFr a utU in 



stillness and his fatigue soon put him to sleep. He was allowed to remain so 
until the meeting closed, and then on being awakened he sought a tavern and 
slept the rest of the day. After eating supper he went to bed and slept soundly 
through the night, so great had been his exhaustion. 

On the following day he obtained employment with a printer named 
Keimer, William Bradford having already obtained a hand, and settled down to 
work and make the most of his opportunities. Keimer recommended him for 
lodging at the home of a Mrs. Read, whose daughter Deborah was destined to 
enter largely into his maturer life, and who, it happened, had with great amuse¬ 
ment observed him on his memorable stroll up Market street the day before, 
little thinking what it meant to her that this strange youth had found his way 
to Philadelphia. 

Franklin’s natural craving for mental improvement had led him to seek the 
best in literature, and especially to profit by the style of those writers who ap¬ 
peared to him most gifted in argument and expression. He had early come 
upon a volume of the. Spectator, the repository of the most learned thought of 
its time, and by arduous practice had acquired much of the scholarly manner 
and clear diction of its editors, which, joined with his speculative proclivities, 
made him an interesting companion for men of greater learning. In this way 
he gained the regard of Governor Keith of Pennsylvania and Delaware, whose 
acquaintance he made through his brother-in-law, Robert Holmes, who was 
master of a sloop that plied between Boston and the Delaware river, and who had 
thus met influential people. Keith had been long settled in his position and 
had acquired a graciousness of manner and profligacy of benevolence that led 
him to undertake much more than he was able to accomplish, and Franklin 
became the victim of his facile scheming. He proposed to give Franklin all 
the public printing of Pennsylvania and Delaware as the foundation of an inde¬ 
pendent business and sent the highly flattered recipient of his favor to the latter’s 
father in Boston, with a letter urging Mr. Franklin to advance the capital to 
launch the enterprise, and when to his great surprise the appeal was refused, he 
lightly agreed to defray the cost himself, and even proposed that Franklin 
should go to London to personally select his outfit. Of course this seemed 
the climax of good fortune and Franklin at once engaged passage, relying on 
Governor Keith’s voluble promises but continually deferred delivery of letters 
and credit, until at last he experienced an awakening when the final promise to 

send the papers with others that 
were to meet the ship at New Castle 
was too late proven faithless, and 
he found himself on the ocean with¬ 
out resources or prospects. He 
had progressed materially in the 
affections of Miss Read during his 
stay at her home, and he left her 
without scruple in the companion¬ 
ship of a young man of congenial 
literary tastes, who took this oppor¬ 
tunity to desert his wife and child. 
He made some worthy acquaint¬ 
ances on the ship, among them that 
of Mr. Denham, a prosperous 
Quaker merchant, who enlightened 



Franklin s Pew in Christs Churchy Phila. 


Kn ttjc gtffafrs of ttjfs OTorlJr jtttn ate SaOrtr, 
not t>» jFaftf). tint tljt toant of ft. Poor Richard. 









































8 



ILiit autr 


Befcoraf) jFranfcUn, toift of Bcuf* jFrauttUu 


him on Keith’s real standing and the fatuity of the promises he had made. 
When, therefore, he landed in London he was obliged immediately to seek work 
to maintain himself. Fortunately his trade stood him in good stead and he 
soon entered upon the fullness of such life as the city could offer to a young 
printer. His companion, James Ralph, aspired to make a living by literary 
work, but as he could find no market for his imagined genius he was a burden 
to Franklin for a long time. He finally secured employment as teacher of an 
elementary school in the country, and before his return to London he broke 
with his benefactor on account of the latter’s presumption of familiarity with 
his mistress, to whom also Franklin had loaned money. 

From the beginning of his work in London, Franklin gained preeminence 
in his trade through the excellence of his work and his ability to accomplish 
more than his fellows. This latter faculty was largely the result of his orderly 
living and abstention from excessive drinking, to which his companions were 
addicted, and they gave him the name of the “Water American” because of his 
adherence to this beverage in place of the great quantities of strong beer on 
which they thought it necessary to rely. By saving the cost of this beer and 
by living very economically he was enabled to lay by a little money and was 
called upon every week to advance considerable sums to the others. His con¬ 
stant habit of endeavoring to improve his own condition and that of those 
around him by rational consideration of every detail of life further distinguished 
him as a leader and gained for him the respect of worthy people outside his 
profession. At Palmer’s printing office where he first obtained work he was 
given Wollaston’s “Religion of Nature” to set for a second edition. He be- 


«f Wjjott toottias’t IMte 2Lons. JUtoc for 

jFollj? an# SEUctotrntss Shorten Hitt. Poor Richard. 


















3$ t n i a m f n 


JF r a n ft 11 n 


9 



•Saraft iiatljr, traujjfttrv of 13tnj. jFrattftUn 

lieved the author’s reasoning fallacious, and to refute it he wrote and issued 
a pamphlet under the title “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, 
Pleasure and Pain.” It was a facile production denying a future life and repu¬ 
diating other fundamental beliefs, but was rather an exercise in speculation than 
the result of conviction, and he soon regretted its publication and recovered and 
destroyed nearly all of the one hundred copies printed. It was the means, 
however, of his making the acquaintance of a number of celebrities whose com¬ 
panionship was a pleasant addition to his life. Another distinction which he 
gained at this time was the result of his prowess and skill in swimming. This 
had been a hobby in his earliest youth, and like everything that he inclined to 
had been exhaustively studied and thoroughly mastered in all its possibilities of 
endurance and grace. His success in teaching a companion to swim in two les¬ 
sons became known to Sir William Wyndham, who sent for him and urged 
him to undertake the teaching of his two sons, who were about to start on 
extended travels which might thus be less hazardous. Franklin was greatly 
pleased with this recognition, but he could not accept the offer as the young 
men were not then in London and he had already completed arrangements to 
return to America with Mr. Denham, the merchant whose acquaintance he 
made on the voyage from Philadelphia. Mr. Denham needed a clerk to look 
after the packing and shipment of the large stock of goods that he was to carry 
back, and he assured Franklin of a good and permanent position in his store 
with the ultimate prospect of being a partner in the business. This was very 
attractive to Franklin who had a high regard for Mr. Denham, and he took 
leave of printing, as he thought, forever. 


(Gutter of WUt tftat te Bouflljt Is WLovty 

a JJouutr tfjat ts Qtauoftt. Poor Richard. 

























IXnaUtv JHeetftifl ®ouse t a 

He had spent about eighteen months in London and had profited in many 
ways by the experience, although not greatly financially, as his former friend 
Ralph was still indebted to him for twenty-seven pounds, but he was glad of so 
favorable an opportunity to return home, where he arrived on the iith of 
October, 1726, after a voyage of nearly three months. While on shipboard he 
prepared a plan of life, consisting of an exhaustive moral code which it was his 
aim to realize in his relations with his fellow-men and which was a great help in 
overcoming many weaknesses. 

Governor Keith had been superseded, during Franklin’s absence, and when 
they met, passed him without recognition, appearing somewhat ashamed of his 
conduct. Miss Read, despairing of his return, had yielded to the desires of her 
friends and married a potter named Rogers, but had only lived with him a 
short time, so unhappy was the union, while it was rumored that he had 
another wife in England. 

Mr. Denham took a deep interest in Franklin, who returned it with affec¬ 
tion and a diligent attention to business; he felt that this was an important 
turning point in his career and was happy to be settled so favorably. His fate 
was marked in other lines however, and in February of the next year both he 
and Mr. Denham were taken down with what he calls “ a pleurisy.” Mr. Den¬ 
ham died, and Franklin was so near death that he resigned himself to it, a 
circumstance that he notes in his memoirs with mention of a feeling of regret, 
when he found himself recovering, that sometime or other it must all be done 
over again. 

Thus thrown on the world again, Franklin accepted from Keimer, his 
former employer, a tempting offer as foreman, and undertook to mould into 
acceptability the work of a number of incompetent hands. After a few months 
it became evident that Keimer intended to employ Franklin only long enough 
to bring the others up to a tolerable standard, and as they gained in proficiency 
his manner became overbearing, threatening at any time a rupture and conse- 


Wivitt Xufttrfea in Uuat, 

Eewffts in J&artilc* Poor Richard. 

























































































































jFtanftUn Cn csobrrnotr Ittftij’s actirars. 


quent excuse for terminating the engagement. He soon found the opportunity 
he sought, for happening to be in the street on an occasion when Franklin 
leaned out of a window to discover the cause of a loud noise nearby, he up¬ 
braided him publicly and then came to the work-room and continued it, 
finishing by giving him a quarter’s notice which he regretted the necessity 
of. Franklin waived this and left instantly, requesting Hugh Meredith, an 
apprentice with whom he was friendly, to bring his belongings to his lodging. 
Meredith brought them in the evening and proposed that when his appren¬ 
ticeship expired, which would be the following spring, they should form a 
partnership for which he would induce his father to furnish the capital, to be 
balanced by Franklin’s skill, with an equal sharing of profits. To this Franklin 
readily agreed, and Mr. Meredith having a high regard for him because of his 
good influence over his son, was pleased with the alliance and ratified the plan. 
It was decided to keep the matter secret until the necessary outfit could be 
obtained from London, and so after a few days of idleness when he was again 
approached by Keimer, who wished to secure a large order which he was 
personally unable to execute, Franklin accepted his apologies and took advant¬ 
age of this opportunity to profitably occupy the intervening time. The order 
was for making the plates and printing paper money for the province of New 
Jersey, and the successful execution of the work by Franklin brought him 
greater renown and many influential friends among those who were deputed to 
supervise the work. At that time no copperplate printing had been done in 
this country, and Franklin was obliged to contrive a press as well as engrave 
the plates and print from them. He took Meredith to Burlington with him 
to assist, that they might be together and that the latter might profit by the 
practice. Soon after their return to Philadelphia their outfit arrived from 
London, and they settled with Keimer and left his employ before he learned 
their plans. They hired a house and rented a part of it to a man named 
Godfrey, with whom they arranged to board. Business came to them from the 


ts Small ftefocnflc in SHortrs, liut 

mag to <&reatl£ HetoeugctL Poor Richard. 


































































































































































































StttoCtns of 


CJje 2LCft ana 



start through friends inter¬ 
ested in their welfare, and 
Franklin makes special 
mention of the assistance 
thus gained through the 
members of a club called 
the Junto, which he had 
organized for mutual study 
and improvement. This 
club consisted of twelve 
members who met each Fri¬ 
day evening, and was very 
serious and methodical in 
its investigations, which were 
laid out on broad lines of 
Sociology, Science, and Re¬ 
ligion. Through its central 
andsubsidiary organizations, 
planned to take in the many 
who desired to join, without 
enlarging the original mem¬ 
bership, it exerted a wide 
influence, and forty years 
later formed the nucleus of 
the American Philosophical 





halts' Jlrfntfng (kfffre fn Houtrou, 
jFrauftliu SHorfcctr. 


Society of which Franklin was the first president. One of the members of the 
Junto procured for the new firm the printing of forty folio sheets of the history 
of the Quakers, and the industry displayed on this, which Franklin had deter¬ 
mined should be set and printed a sheet a day, attracted the attention of 
influential people who observed them at work early and late, and further 
increased their patronage. 

Bradford was successfully publishing a weekly newspaper, and Franklin 
having a strong disposition for writing, conceived the idea of entering this field. 
He was not prepared to start it at once, but he confided his plan to George 
Webb, a former associate at Keimer’s, who had then come to Franklin for 
employment. He requested Webb, for whom he had no place, to keep the 
matter secret, but Webb immediately took it to Keimer who resolved to steal a 
march on his rival, and at once announced his intention of beginning the publi¬ 
cation of the “ Universal Instructor in All the Arts and Sciences and the Penn¬ 
sylvania Gazette .” The bombastic forepart of the title was undoubtedly based 
on his proposal to republish, a consecutive part in each issue, a voluminous 
encyclopedia that had just appeared. Franklin was much chagrined at this 
forestalling of his project, and with the tactics of a modern stock-broker set out 
to weaken Keimer’s position by strengthening Bradford’s “ Mercury ” until 
such time as he should be ready to enter the field with his own paper. He 
therefore contributed regularly to the “Mercury ,” over the name o {“Busybody ” 
bright, pertinent articles calculated to interest the body of the people while 
avoiding everything that might give offense to any. This was a marked 
reversal of his tendency in the “ Silence Dogood ” letters of the “ New England 
Courant ,” and indicated the ascendency of the principles that he had formed 
after such mature deliberation and which served him with increasing profit to 


<El&rce Imp a Secret* 

Xf £too of £t)cm are Bcatr- Poor Richard. 




















































































Ur ujatuCn 


jF r a n ft l f n 






jFraufcltu as JJorter for 
iFrauftitu & JWrrctrftfi* 


the end of his life. The 
scheme worked as he antic¬ 
ipated and Keimer’s sheet 
was soon reduced to a pre¬ 
carious existence, which 
terminated with the thirty- 
ninth issue, when it was 
offered to Franklin’s firm 
who bought it and brought 
it out under the abridged 
title of the “Pennsylvania 
Gazette ” Franklin’s skill 
and versatility as a writer 
soon rehabilitated it and it 
became an important factor 
in life and politics, thereby 
adding greatly to the pros¬ 
perity of the general printing 
business of its proprietors, 
as the politicians were sen¬ 
sible of its power and recog¬ 
nized the benefit of being in 
harmony with its publishers. 
With this advantage and the 
influence of personal friends 


in the Assembly, as well as the manifest superiority of their work, the firm obtained 
the public printing of Pennsylvania, including the paper money which came to be 
authorized against considerable opposition through clever anonymous articles by 
Franklin, and also the similar work of Delaware. Meredith was of little assis¬ 
tance in the business and it developed that his father had, by reason of a strait- 
ness in his affairs, only paid one-half of the purchase price of the material 
obtained in London to set up the establishment, and was unable to supply the 
balance. The printers were having a hard time to make both ends meet, not¬ 
withstanding their increase of orders, and the prospect of raising the one 
hundred pounds remaining due was very remote. Franklin was much worried 
by the possibility of being sold out by his creditors, but this misfortune was 
obviated by the confidence and liberality of friends who learned of his dis¬ 
tress. Without solicitation and unknown to each other William Coleman and 
Robert Grace offered to supply the money to pay all his debts if he would 
sever his connection with Meredith, who was dissipated and indolent as well as 
incapable. Franklin was grateful for this kindness and fully realized the wis¬ 
dom of the conditions, but he felt in honor bound to give his partner full 
opportunity to complete the agreement which had enabled them to start in 
business. He therefore waited some time to see if this would be done, and 
finding no prospect of it, mentioned the matter to Meredith with the suggestion 
that perhaps his father was dissatisfied with the outcome of the venture and 
would prefer to have his son in business alone. Meredith replied very candidly 
that his father was really unable, through disappointments, to pay the balance, 
and furthermore, that he did not consider himself qualified to succeed as a printer, 
and that if Franklin would repay his father the one hundred pounds advanced, 
pay his small debts, give him thirty pounds and a new saddle, as well as assume 


(Ere tritons are a Superstitious Sett, (great 
©ftsertrers of Set Daps antr crimes. Poor Richard. 

































the debts of the firm, he would withdraw and remove to South Carolina where 
many of his former neighbors were settling. Franklin agreed to this proposal 
and it was immediately put in writing, signed and sealed. Being unwilling to 
prefer one beyond the other Franklin accepted from each of his two friends 
one-half of the money required and announced the dissolution of the partnership 
and his purchase of the business. Work continued to come to him in abund¬ 
ance and Franklin took on a journeyman he had known in London, and an 
apprentice, also adding to his establishment a book and stationery shop. He 
continued to board with the Godfreys, who lived'in his house, and Mrs. God¬ 
frey undertook to bring about his marriage with the daughter of one of her 
relatives. She brought them much together, and Franklin, being pleased with 
the girl carried it to the point of negotiations with Mrs. Godfrey, whom he 
informed that he should expect a dowry sufficient to pay what he owed on his 
business—his indebtedness having been reduced to about one hundred pounds. 
This broke up the affair, Mrs. Godfrey professing disapproval of the match 
and disbelief in his prospects. Franklin suspected that this was a ruse to force 
them to a secret marriage, reckoning that sufficient attachment had been formed, 
and he resented the idea and refrained from further attentions although Mrs. 
Godfrey intimated that they would be favorably received. 

Having had his thoughts turned in this direction Franklin concluded that 
marriage would be desirable, and as he had kept up his acquaintance with Miss 

Read, as he still called her, he revived their 
mutual affection and waiving the possibilities 
of the return of Rogers, who had long since 
run away to the West Indies where it was said 
he had died, and the liability for the latter’s 
debts, he “took her to wife” September ist, 
1730. They never heard from Rogers or his 
debts and the alliance proved all that could 
be desired. Mrs. Franklin was not his equal 
in mental accomplishments, but she was faith¬ 
ful and helpful, and Franklin’s amiability was 
always superior to her deficiencies of educa¬ 
tion, although later in life these were basely 
alluded to by his detractors. He regarded 
this step as the correction of one of the great 
errors of life, and of their union he says: 
“We throve together and have ever mutually 
endeavor’d to make each other happy.” 

As was the custom with all printers, Frank¬ 
lin had since settingup in business published 
an annual almanac, an ever profitable institu¬ 
tion in those days of scant literature. He 
had been encouraged in this by Thomas 
Godfrey, whose passion for astronomy was 
above everything in his life, and who was 
therefore qualified to forecast eclipses and 
supply other necessary data for such a work. 
Title Page {reduced.} of the First As a consequence of the disagreement with 

Issue of Poor Richard's Almanac. Mrs -Godfrey the family left Franklin’s house 

and Godfrey s services were transferred to 


Poor Richard, 1733 . 

A N 

Almanack 

For the Year of Chrift 

1 7 3 3* 

Being the Fir A after LEAP YEAR. 

And makes fnct the. Creation Year* 
By the Account of the Eaflern Creeks 7241 

By the Latin Church, when O ent. f 6912 

By the Computation of IV.tV. 5742 

By the Homan Chronology 5682 

By the Jewi/h Habbies. 5494 

Wherein is contained 
The Lunations, Eclipfes, Judgment of 

the Weather, Spring Tides, Planets Motions St 
mutual Afpefts, Sun and Moon's Riling and Set¬ 
ting, Length of Days, Time of High Water, 
Fairs, Coarts, and obfervable Days. 

Fitted to the Latitude of Forty Degrees, 

and a Meridian of Five Hours Well from London, 
but may without fenfible Error, ferve all the ad¬ 
jacent Places, even from Sanfcundland to South- 
Carolina. 

By RICHARD SAUNDERS , Philom , 

PHILADELPHIA. 

Printed and fold by B. FRAHKLIU, at the New 
Printing- Office near the Market 


Itcej) ¥ouv Sges 

<D|)cn before J&arrfaflc* 

©alf Sljut ^ftertoarirsu Poor Richard. 



















Bradford. Instead of being dismayed at this loss Franklin’s keen resources turned 
it to advantage and brought out an almanac so novel and entertaining that three 
editions were required to supply the demand that extended from New England 
to the South. As these almanacs were rated according to the learning and 
reputation of the Philomath, or astronomical calculator who was identified with 
each, Franklin supplied this deficiency by creating such a character under the 
name of “Richard Saunders” otherwise “Poor Richard” and the following, his 
introduction to the first issue, that of 1733, shows the spirit and completeness 
of the result: 

“Courteous Reader: 

I might in this place attempt to gain thy favour, by declaring that I write 
almanacks with no other view than that of the public good; but in this I 
should not be sincere; and men are now adays too wise to be deceiv’d by pre¬ 
tences how specious soever. The plain truth of the matter is, I am excessive 
poor, and my wife, good woman, is, I tell her, excessive proud; she cannot 
bear, she says, to sit spinning in her shift of tow, while I do nothing but gaze 
at the stars; and has threatned more than once to burn all my books and 
rattling-traps (as she calls my instruments) if I do not make some profitable 
use of them for the good of my family. The printer has offer'd me some 
considerable share of the profits, and I have thus began to comply with my 
dame’s desire. Indeed this motive would have had force enough to have made 

me publish an almanack many years since, had 
it not been overpowered by my regard for my 
good friend and fellow-student, Mr.Titan Leeds, 
whose interest I was extreamly unwilling to hurt: 

But this obstacle (I am far from speaking it with 
pleasure) is soon to be removed, since inexorable 
Death, who was never known to respect merit, 
has already prepared the mortal dart, the fatal 
sister has already extended her destroying shears, 
and that ingenious man must soon be taken from 
us. He dies, by my calculation, made at his 
request, on Oct. 17, 1733, 3 ho. 29 m. P. M., 
at the very instant of the d of © and $: By 
his own calculation he will survive till the 26th 
of the same month. This small difference 
between us we have disputed whenever we have 
met these nine years past; but at length he is 
inclinable to agree with my judgment. 

Which of us is most exact a little time will 
now determine. As therefore these Provinces 
may not longer expect to see any of his per¬ 
formances after this year, I think myself free to 
take up the task, and request a share of publi'ck 
encouragement; which I am the more apt to 
hope for on this account, the buyer of my Alma¬ 
nack may consider himself not only as purchas¬ 
ing an useful utensil, but as performing an act 
of charity, to his poor 

Friend and servant, 

R. Saunders.” 

¥o« JSaou’K Wot tit jForflottrn as Soon as ¥on art 
Utatr an# itottrn, citfjcr sstrftc rowings SHotUj Mcahfng 

ot Ho things KWorttj tfjt OTrttCng. Poor Richard. 


A TABLE of the Value 
end Weight of Coins y as 
they now-^afs in Pennfyl- 

vania. Leaft 

Valoe.yf right 

£. 4 . d. 

E Kgt- Guineas at 1 14 o 
French Guineas I 13 6 
Moidores • • - 2 3 

Johannes’s • • * 5 *S 0 
Half Johannes’s • a 17 
Carolines - - - 1 14 o 

Dutch or Ger. Ducat, e 14 o 
French spilled Piftoles X 6 
^panilh Piftoles 1 
Arabian Chequins - o 
Other Gold Coin, per 
Ounce - « - 6 

French Silver Crowns o 
Spanith tnilied Pieces 
of 8. - — - - o 

Othergoodcoined Span. 

Silver, per Ounce o 


7 

*3 

5 

7 


5,6 

5 5 

6 18 
r8 8 
9 4 ) 

6 A 

* 4 
4 4 
4 6 
2 


6 17 6 


7 6 >7 
3 61 


The Proportion of Gold to Silver, In 
Engiand is,as ([ J I : : Q ; i e » 

l Ounce Troy of Gold (22 Car.) 
is worth Sterling £. j 178* 

t«-Ounce Sterling Silver, 05a 


From Poor Richard's 
Almanac. 



















16 JKfjt JLtfc an® 


SettHtrs of 



He followed this in successive issues with the verification of Leed’s death 
as predicted, and with ridicule of foolish assertions to the contrary purporting 
to come from Leeds himself, and after a few years when Leeds was really dead, 
with a letter from his spirit confirming Poor Richard’s assertions and promising 
co-operation as follows: 

“Dear Friend Saunders: 

My respect for you continues even in this separate state, and I am griev’d 
to see the aspersions thrown on you by the malevolence of avaricious publishers 
of Almanacks, who envy your success. 

They say your prediction of my death in 1733 was false, and they pretend 
that I remained alive many years after. But I do hereby certify, that I did 
actually die at that time, precisely at the hour you mention’d, with a variation 
only of 5 min. 53 sec. which must be allow’d to be no great matter in such 
cases. And I do farther declare that I furnish’d them with no calculations of 
the planets motions, &c. seven years after my death, as they are pleased to give 
out: so that the stuff they publish as an Almanack in my name is no more 
mine than ’tis yours. 

You will wonder perhaps how this paper comes written on your table. 
You must know that no separate spirits are under any confinement till after 
the final settlement of all accounts. In the meantime we wander where we 
please, visit our old friends, observe their actions, enter sometimes into their 
imaginations, and give them hints waking or sleeping that may be of advantage 

to them. Finding you 
asleep, I entered your left 
nostril, ascended into 
your brain, found out 
where the ends of those 
nerves were fastned that 
move your right hand 
and fingers, by the help 
of which I am now writ¬ 
ing unknown to you; but 
when you open your 
eyes, you will see that 
the hand written is mine, 
’tho wrote with yours. 

The people of this in¬ 
fidel age, perhaps, will 
hardly believe this story. 
But you may give them 
these three signs by which 
they shall be convinc’d 
of the truth of it. About 
the middle of June next, 
J. J. ******* n> Philo- 
mat, shall be openly rec¬ 
onciled to the Church of 
Rome, and give all his 
goods and chattels to the 
chappel, being perverted 



(SoUmior OTUUant jFtankltn. 
son of Benjamin jFtanfcUn. 


£lje KHfse jttan Status jHote atrtiantage from ©ts 
winks, tijan tijc .ffool ftotn fjts jFricnirs. Poor Richard. 
























by a certain country school-master. On the 7th of September following my 
old friend W. B. ******t shall be sober 9 hours, to the astonishment of all his 
neighbours: And about the same time W. B. and A. B. will publish another 
Almanack in my name, in spight of truth and common sense. 

As I can see much clearer into futurity, since I got free from the dark 
prison of flesh, in which I was continually molested and almost blinded with 
fogs arising from tiff, and the smoke of burnt drams; I shall in kindness to 
you, frequently give you information of things to come, for the improvement 
of your Almanack: being, Dear Dick, 

Your Affectionate Friend, 

T. Leeds” 

The regular tables of the months were interspersed with proverbs from 
many sources and wise maxims of his own, all presented in his inimitable 
manner and headed by original verses of a satirical or facetious character. 
Included also were chronological tables, list of the courts in neighboring 
provinces, the stated meetings of the Quakers, distances to the surrounding 
places, etc. Franklin continued to publish the almanac with unvarying success 
for twenty-five years, and it was then issued by his successors until 1796. In 
this time Poor Richard had become an immortal character and his wise sayings 
were spread broadcast in every language of the civilized world. 

The subjection of his animal nature was one of the unattained principles 
of Franklin’s Rules of Life, and he candidly relates his weakness in this regard. 
As a consequence an illegitimate son, William Franklin, whose mother was 
never known, became a member of his family and was brought up with full 
honor and advantages. He was educated in London as a barrister and held 
the positions of Postmaster of Philadelphia and Provincial Governor of New 
Jersey. Franklin had two other children, Francis Folger born in 1732, and 
Sarah born in 1743. The former, an extremely promising child, died of small¬ 
pox at four years of age, a misfortune which his father could never recall with¬ 
out pain. Sarah was a great comfort and pleasure to him, and she grew up 
strong, dutiful and accomplished, marrying Richard Bache, a merchant who 
failed in business in early life, and through Franklin secured a position in the 
Philadelphia Post Office, being subsequently Deputy Postmaster General. 

This period of Franklin’s life was full of activity and study, and laid the 
foundation of his subsequent renown. In 1733 he sent one of his journeymen 
to Charleston, South Carolina, with a printing outfit and took a partnership 
with him in the business. He proved only moderately successful and died not 
long after, leaving the business in a precarious condition, but his widow assumed 
its management with such profit that she was able to purchase Franklin’s 
interest and establish her son in its conduct. 

He took up the study of languages, beginning with French which he soon 
mastered, and passed through Spanish and Italian to Latin and Greek; he had 
had an introduction to Latin during one year of his early schooling, but had 
since neglected it, and he was surprised to discover that through this and his 
study of modern languages, he readily acquired proficiency in the former. 

Franklin’s activity in business and the Junto, brought him increasing 
prominence, and in 1736 he was chosen Clerk of the General Assembly. The 
next year he was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia, a position formerly 
held by his competitor Bradford. It was characteristic of Franklin to turn to 
the utmost private benefit all private and public opportunities, a fact which he 


jFcto tftrrr art Wifyo ©atit eouraflt feuoufif) to #ton 
&t)Hr jFattUs, or liesolution ISwougf) to J&eutr £1jttn* p. R- 













assorfatfon Batter®, j)IanneJi lip jFranttlfn 


continually and very ingenuously calls attention to,—although later in life the 
public phase of it was freely criticised by his enemies,—and the postmastership 
became a great help to the improvement and circulation of his newspaper. Like 
benefits had not only come to Bradford during his term in the office, but he 
had denied the privilege of the mails to the Gazette , reducing Franklin to the 
necessity of bribing the carriers for its surreptitious delivery. The latter did 
not stoop to retaliate under the reversed conditions, but he had the satisfaction of 
observing a gradual decline of the Mercury owing to the greater quantity of news 
he was able to collect and the consequent increase of subscriptions. His office 
of Clerk to the Assembly was also made the most of, and it was therefore with 
some disquietude that he noted the opposition of a worthy new member to his 
second annual election. This member desired the office for a friend, but 
Franklin received a majority of the votes and then set himself to gain the 
friendship of the antagonistic member. His own words will best recount his 
wisdom in the matter: 

“I therefore did not like the opposition of this new member, who was a 
gentleman of fortune and education, with talents that were likely to give him, 
in time, great influence in the House, which, indeed, afterwards happened. I 
did not, however, aim at gaining his favour by paying any servile respect to 
him, but, after some time, took this other method. 

Having heard that he had in his library a certain very scarce and curious 
book, I wrote a note to him, expressing my desire of perusing that book, and 
requesting he would do me the favour of lending it to me for a few days. He 
sent it immediately, and I returned it in about a week with another note, ex¬ 
pressing strongly my sense of the favour. When we next met in the House, 
he spoke to me (which he had never done before), and with great civility; and 
he ever after manifested a readiness to serve me on all occasions, so that we 
became great friends, and our friendship continued to his death. This is 
another instance of the truth of an old maxim I had learned, which says,— c He 
that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than 


Etje JFivst iWstafte in JJtttUc Ettafucsa 

Jte tfje <&o tug Xuto JEt* Poor Richard . 


















































































































iJJjnafMflDfa araHrmp, jFotnms f>s JFtanitUw 


he whom you yourself have obliged. ’ And it shows how much more profit¬ 
able it is prudently to remove, than resent, return and continue inimical pro¬ 
ceedings.” 

About this time he began to interest himself in some of the particularly 
manifest needs of his town, and he made the Junto with its branches and grow¬ 
ing influence a very serviceable means of imparting his ideas. In view of the 
present widespread activity in and recognition of Improvement Societies and 
Civic Associations, which are deemed a modern conception, it is interesting to 
note the fruitful energy of this organization on the lines of civic betterment 
advocated by Franklin, and the permanence and value of the resulting institu¬ 
tions. He first pointed out the corruption and inadequacy of the sporadic 
night watch system of Philadelphia, which was under the jurisdiction of 
ward constables who were empowered to call on a certain number of citizens for 
service each night, in lieu of which a tax of six shillings might be paid which 
secured release from such service for one year. This was commonly taken 
advantage of by the better classes, and many evils resulted from the system, as 
the taxes went to the constables and they profited by employing, at very low 
wages, a disreputable set that was more a menace than a protection, and utterly 
unreliable as to patrol. He also argued the injustice of the specific tax, which 
for a poor widow was the same as for a rich merchant who had many goods to 
protect. He advocated the hiring of capable men to serve constantly, who 
should be paid from a tax levied in proportion to property; and though it took 
some years to overthrow the established system it was finally done and the 
foundation of the modern police system was laid. 

In a paper read before the Junto he called attention to the frequency with 
which fires occurred, their causes, and means of preventing them. This led to 
the formation of a company of thirty members who each agreed to keep ready 
for use a certain number of leather buckets, strong bags and baskets, the latter 
for transporting goods, and to bring them to every fire. 


EHoultr ¥on jjevsttatre, Speali of interest, 

‘Sot of itttasou* Poor Richard. 
























































































































































They also met once a month to pass a social evening and discuss ideas for 
more effective service. As with the Junto, too many applied for membership 
and they were recommended to form other companies so that in a short time 
they became so numerous as to include nearly all the property owners of the city. 
The Union Fire Company, as that formed by Franklin was called, was in active 
service nearly sixty years and its apparatus, purchased with small fines levied 
on members who failed to attend the meetings, included an engine, two hundred 
and fifty buckets, thirteen ladders, two hooks and a long rope. These associa¬ 
tions did good work in preventing the spread of fires and greatly reduced the 
losses from this cause. 

Franklin’s circumstances were now becoming easy through the large profits 
of his newspaper and other interests, and he decided to establish a number of 
his deserving workmen in various places, as he had done earlier in South Caro¬ 
lina. Nearly all of them prospered and at the end of six years, for which the 
partnership was specified, purchased Franklin’s interest and continued success¬ 
fully in the business. 

In his consideration of the needs of the community Franklin realized two 
serious deficiencies and set about remedying them. One of these was the lack 
of facilities for the higher education of youth, and the other the total absence 
of protective militia. For the first he proposed the establishment of an 
academy and had in mind a clergyman whom he thought suited to direct it,— 
but this man, the Rev. Mr. Peters, had other plans, in the service of the 
Proprietors, and so the project languished for a while. The lack of militia was 
largely due to the peculiar political conditions prevailing in Pennsylvania; 
The hereditary proprietors were strongly represented in the Assembly, and 
with others of Quaker faith, for economical and religious reasons they persis¬ 
tently opposed any appropriation of funds for this purpose. Knowing that 
there was no hope of securing official initiative, although the Governor was 
strongly in favor of it, Franklin wrote and published a pamphlet called “Plain 
Truth” in which he recounted the dangers of invasion because of the war then 
waging between England and Spain—which had recently been joined by France, 
and urged a voluntary association to set up a battery and be ready to defend 
the city if the enemy should seek reprisals on this side of the Atlantic. 

The pamphlet was widely approved, and he then called a public meeting 
for subscription to the rolls. This was well attended and was presided over by 
Franklin, who further advocated the plan and provided numerous printed 
forms bearing the articles of the Association, which he exhorted the audience to 

sign- 

This request was eagerly complied with, and it was found when the papers 
were collected that over twelve hundred had pledged themselves to member¬ 
ship. Other copies were circulated in the surrounding country, and within a 
short time the membership was increased to ten thousand. These soon armed 
and formed themselves into companies and regiments, and met each week to drill 
and perfect themselves in military knowledge. Franklin was chosen for Colonel 
of the Philadelphia regiment, but he considered himself unfit for the office and 
recommended a Mr. Lawrence, who was of fine presence and influential, and 
he was accordingly elected. Franklin then proposed a lottery to raise money 
to build a battery and equip it with cannon. Lotteries were at that time fully 
accredited and popular, and served many worthy purposes. This one soon 
“filled” and the battery was built of logs filled around with earth. The matter 
of obtaining cannon was not so easy, as there were comparatively few in the 


antje to tie Safe, is Xtfcet 

i)t jsjttttVC* Poor Richard . 

















JF t «l n It U u 


21 




jFranttltn's Jhtnclj Barrel. 


country and no facilities for making 
them. A few old ones were purchased 
from Boston and others ordered from 
England, a somewhat hopeless request 
being at the same time sent to the 
Proprietors for assistance in the work. 
Their greatest accessions resulted, 
however, from the visit of Franklin, 
Col. Lawrence and two other leaders 
to New York to request a loan of 
ordinance from Governor Clinton. 
The following, Franklin’s account of 
their experiences, throws a light on 
many of the operations of the times: 

“He at first refused us peremp¬ 
torily; hut at dinner with his council, 
where there was great drinking of 
Madeira wine, as the custom of that 
place then was, he softened by degrees, 
and said he would lend us six. After 


a few more bumpers he advanc’d to ten, and at length he very good-naturedly 
conceded eighteen. They w'ere fine cannon, eighteen-pounders, which were 
soon transported and mounted on our battery, where the associators kept a 
nightly guard while the war lasted, and among the rest I regularly took a turn 
of duty there as a common soldier.” 


Franklin’s activities in these affairs brought him into close touch with 
Governor Thomas and his council, and he was consulted on every measure by 
which they proposed to help the organization. At his suggestion the Governor 
issued a proclamation for a fast to implore the blessing of Heaven on the 
undertaking. This was the first proclamation of this sort issued in Pennsylva¬ 
nia, and as no one else was familiar with the form, Franklin’s New England 
education was of service and he drew it up in the style to which he was accus¬ 
tomed in youth. This was printed in English and German, for the benefit of 
the many colonists of the latter nationality, and being published through the 
clergy was very effective in gaining recruits. It was feared by some of Franklin’s 
friends that this warlike activity would alienate his support by the Quaker 
members of the Assembly at the next election of Clerk. One young man who 
sought the office for himself took advantage of this apprehension to inform 
Franklin that it had been decided to displace him, and he thought he might prefer 
to resign rather than be turned out. Franklin’s reply was: “I have read or 
heard of some public man who made it a rule never to ask for an office, and 
never to refuse one offer’d him. I approve of his rule and will practice it with 
a small addition: I shall never ask, never refuse , nor ever resign an office.” 
No more was heard of the opposition and Franklin was again unanimously 
elected. 

The tenets of the Quaker faith were often a source of embarrassment to 
its representatives in the Assembly who desired to serve the interests of the 
province and the crown. They could not consistently vote money for war, 
and so when the king called for grants for military purposes they satisfied the 
letter of their creed and the king’s requirements by voting sums “for the King’s 


■STott J**ajj 23*ft>e a ©in 
zjimjoitt a Cffuiitt. p.r. 






























E\)t in fc ana 


ScriHces of 



® THE ART OF MAKING MONEY PLENTY 
IN EVERY MAN’S POCKET 

BY DOCTOR FRANKLIN 



Jr 


comfilainl # ^4 jg§§|& & 
it mud$ am ad c^Lidmi /<& |g£ Lw thy IF® ©SE 

th/uP^jf Jfif acquaintf'mlA the. VweM&utc^ fh ^Pjfhimy 
tie attain tmy tclillcM (J fc&kLwZiecfi dcm\ warn lull.dm 


ca? 


7 WrbMAvru. uvm \ (J 

j&W than tfiu J^aainiY^JuJlduW^soen ^aiml 
thrive tfu cud ^ toxsf <§^0=? thccnci u' 9 r*.afiW~~ 
net suiTiael eile tace nor jS iWu ^iu 
tfieufol hemipp^pdllYi ^nefhJdct amd filtoAuAe 

tbji Q^wfi jm HP cwifighfcl tAif- 


CQ? 


eml 



f ™ 

tA e4£ %^ amd^j fiafifuj 


cwtfwu^ru. 


& jFamous iirtjue 


use. Once when the de¬ 
mand came from New Eng¬ 
land to furnish gunpowder 
for the king’s troops at 
Louisburg and the above 
circumlocution was inappli¬ 
cable, they voted an aid of 
three thousand pounds “to 
be put into the hands of the 
Governor for the purchas¬ 
ing of bread, flour, wheat or 
other grain” and calmly 
viewed the purchase of gun¬ 
powder. This adroitness 
was remembered by Frank¬ 
lin who planned to use like 
tactics to their discomfiture 
on an occasion when it was 
feared that the Quaker 
members of the fire com¬ 
pany would defeat a propo¬ 
sal to apply the funds of 
the company, some sixty 
pounds, to the purchase of 
tickets in the militia lottery. 

It turned out that only one of them opposed the plan, and that many of the 
twenty-one of that faith were ready to support it if necessary although they 
preferred not to attend the meeting. Franklin’s plan was to secure their votes 
for the purchase of a fire-engine, and then by having himself and another, 
designated a committee for the purpose, to buy a great gun which he asserted 
was unquestionably a “fire engine.” He, doubtless, would have enjoyed giving 
this lesson of their own teaching. 

Soon after this, peace was concluded, and Franklin returned to his project 
of founding an academy. Following his settled policy of keeping himself in 
the background in these schemes of public improvement, he secured the co¬ 
operation of a number of friends, several of whom were members of the Junto, 
and in their names he published a pamphlet entitled, “ Proposals relating to the 
Education of Youth in Philadelphia.” This he distributed among the principal 
inhabitants and when he thought they had had time to consider it he followed 
with a subscription for opening and supporting an academy. By making the 
sum pledged payable in yearly installments for five years he undoubtedly 
secured a greater aggregate, which he tells us was no less than five thousand 
pounds. Twenty-four trustees were chosen, and under a constitution drawn up 
by Franklin and the Attorney-General, Mr. Francis, a house was hired, teachers 
engaged and the school opened. It soon outgrew the facilities at hand and 
through Franklin’s agency a very large building, which had been erected 
for the followers of George Whitefield, the evangelist, but which since his 
departure for other fields had been a considerable burden to the trustees, of 
which Franklin was one, was secured. During the great enthusiasm of the 
revival the building was quickly built, and, dedicated to undenominational ser¬ 
vices, opened to preachers of every faith. By assuming its debts, guaranteeing 


Genius SHttftout IS&ucatfou 

Jte lUUt Silver in tfje JHitte. Poor Richard. 












Beniamin 



the reservation of a large hall for the use of itinerant preachers and the main¬ 
tenance of a free school for poor children, the trustees of the academy came 
into possession of this building, and under Franklin’s superintendence remodeled 
and added to it with very gratifying results. The school flourished with a rec¬ 
tor of Franklin’s selection, but later when politics made Franklin a target for 
much abuse, both rector and pupils forgot his services in creating the insti¬ 
tution and issued many pamphlets opposing and criticising him. After the 
War of the Revolution, when it had become the University of Pennsylvania, 
these differences were obliterated, and Franklin again became a trustee and was 
chosen president of that body. 

During the years of his activity in founding these institutions Franklin 
also found leisure to continue his studies and experiments. His mind was 
always open to consider any problem that method or chance brought to his 
attention, and to all these he gave scholarly thought, much of which he care¬ 
fully recorded, although some of the subjects today appear trivial. This was 
his mental nature, however, and whether it were rebuses, magic squares, or the 
newly discovered phenomena of electricity that were uppermost, the results 
were definite and in many cases valuable. One of his important inventions, 
made just previous to his taking up of public affairs was what he called the 
Pennsylvania Fireplace, now known in a modified form as the Franklin stove. 
The large open fire-places of the period burned great quantities of wood and 
radiated little heat. Franklin devised a sort of stove to set within the fire-place, 
with which, through a clear appreciation of the properties of hot and cold air 
and a skillful application of their governing principles, he was able to create 
and maintain a draught through a devious passage that radiated a very large 

percentage of the heat of the wood burning on 
the grate. The results were much warmer 
rooms than had been possible before, and a great 
reduction in the quantity of fuel required. To 
explain this appliance to his neighbors Frank¬ 
lin published a pamphlet, which is not only an 
example of his pains-taking research but a de¬ 
lightful essay of permanent interest. He argued 
the benefits of warm air, reviewed current meth¬ 
ods of heating in this and other countries, and 
demonstrated the superiority of his invention 
and the manner of installing and operating it. 
The fire-place became very popular and he gave 
the patterns to his friend Robert Grace, who 
was an iron-founder, and who did a thriving 
business through them. Franklin did not take 
out a patent on this, as he believed that every¬ 
one should freely contribute his discoveries and 
inventions for the common good, so he derived 
no pecuniary benefit from it. Some time after¬ 
ward he learned that an iron-monger in London 
had appropriated the idea and patented it with 
great profit. 

Franklin had relieved himself of all the 
details of his printing business by taking as a 
partner Mr. David Hall, who had been in his 


■ .U TV,*81 

.U’.i.V'iVV.l 



Franklin s 

Philadelphia Fireplace. 

(From his model.) 


saujtn Vou’rc (Kootr to <D tJjcvs 
Vow art JScst to ¥o titer If. p. r. 







































24 JUft an9 

cS®?- 



Serbices of 



employ for a number of years and who proved very capable and methodical. 
He planned to devote the leisure thus gained to the study of electricity and 
other natural phenomena, and he purchased the physical apparatus of Dr. Spence 
who had come from England to lecture. Franklin had some time before re¬ 
ceived as a present from Mr. Peter Collinson of London a glass sphere to be 
rubbed with silk to generate electricity, and he had been greatly interested in 
the new force, for the study of which he had built improved apparatus, and had 
entertained many people with exhibitions of its working. He entered upon 
systematic experimenting with keen delight, but he was destined to be seriously 
interrupted, as no sooner was it known that he had retired from his printing 
office than the public seized upon him for all sorts of services. The Governor 
put him on several important commissions, he was elected successively a mem¬ 
ber of the Common Council, Alderman, and as a Burgess of the House of 
Representatives. He found the latter office very congenial and was re-elected 
for ten years, until he again went to England, without solicitation or other effort 
on his part, and through this membership he was enabled to accomplish a great 
deal of good for various causes. One of the first of these was the making of 
a treaty with the Indians, for which he, with Mr. Norris, the Speaker of the 
House, and two members of the Governor’s council journeyed to Carlisle. 
They found the Indians very disorderly through drink, and they immediately 
forbade any rum to be sold them until after the treaty was concluded, promising 
them their fill when the business was over. By this means a very satisfactory 
treaty was secured, the Indians deliberating in a very dignified and orderly 
manner; but they turned again to savages of the most abhorrent type when 
the promised rum was delivered ; men and women making a pandemonium of 
the night, dancing and shouting frantically around a huge bonfire in the center 
of the Square, and chasing one another with fire-brands in their quarrels. 

Another project which he was enabled to realize was the establishment of 
a hospital in Philadelphia, the first institution of this kind in the country. 
The idea had been conceived by his friend, Dr. Thomas Bond, but this gentle¬ 
man had been unable to convince the people of its benefits and so had secured 
few subscriptions. Many whom he solicited asked him what Franklin thought 
of it, and so he appealed to the latter for assistance although he had at first 
thought it out of the other’s line. Franklin subscribed for himself and entered 
heartily into the work, soliciting of others, and then secured the passage of a 
bill in the Assembly authorizing an appropriation of two thousand pounds to 
be paid to the managers of the fund when they had obtained pledge of an equal 
sum from individuals. This was a plan to overcome the decided opposition of 
many representatives who believed that the conditions could not be met, and 
that they would thus appear public spirited without expense to the treasury. 
Franklin and his associates then went to the people with the argument that by 
this enactment the donation of each would be doubled and soon raised the full 
sum. A suitable building was erected and the Pennsylvania Hospital favor¬ 
ably established. It proved such a blessing that Franklin says in his Autobi¬ 
ography: “I do not remember any of my political manoeuvres, the success of 
which gave me at the time more pleasure, or wherein, after thinking of it, I 
more easily excused myself for having made some use of cunning.” 

From these important works we find him turning to minor conveniences 
with equal enthusiasm and effectiveness. He deplored the filthy condition of 
Philadelphia’s important streets, and by means of small experiments and the 
co-operation of abuttors he demonstrated the benefits of pavements, and 


2HeU Done in Better Etjau WLtU Sain. Poor Richard. 


■nJ 










JSenjamln 




jFtanftlfn 2 5 



moulded public opinion into approval of taxation for continuing the work. 
He also called attention to the desirability of street-lamps, by following the 
example of Mr. John Clifton and placing one before his door. Though 
Franklin disclaims the initiative in this, he refers to his study of the faults of 
the London type of lamp for this purpose, the effectiveness of improvements 
which he devised, and to his efforts as usual, in public discussion of the matter. 

His comments on these activities furnish a wise rendering of a great truth. 
“Some may think these trifling matters not worth minding or relating,—Human 
felicity is produc’d not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom 
happen as by little advantages that occur every day.” 

On the death in 1753, of Colonel Spotswood, the Postmaster-General, 
Franklin and Mr. William Hunter were jointly appointed to that office. 
Their salaries were to be three hundred pounds each per annum, if they could 
make that amount above the expenses of the department, and they succeeded 
so well in regulating and re-organizing it that the office, which had never before 
been remunerative to the British government, paid in a few years, a profit equal 
to three times the revenue of the post-office of Ireland. They took bold 
measures to accomplish this, and at the end of the first year were obliged to 
make good, out of their own pockets, a deficiency of over nine hundred pounds, 
but notwithstanding their later success their efforts were not appreciated by the 
ministers, and they were subsequently removed, after which the office lapsed 
to its former unprofitable condition. 

In 1754 a congress of commissioners from the different colonies was called 
to meet at Albany to confer with the chiefs of the Six Nations to arrange for 

defending the country in the event of the anticipated 
war with France. Franklin was one of the four 
chosen by the House to represent Pennsylvania on 
this occasion, and on the journey to Albany he con¬ 
ceived a plan of union of the forces of the provinces 
under a central government, which contained the 
elements of the National Union ultimately devel¬ 
oped by the Revolution. When the congress con¬ 
vened he found that others had similar ideas but his 
was conceded to be superior in its details and was 
discussed and adopted in the intervals of the business 
with the Indians. It was then recommended to the 
Provincial Governments and to the Board of Trade 
of England, which had proposed the congress, with 
the result that at home it was rejected for unduly 
favoring the Crown, while in England it was held to 
be too democratic. This contrariety of opinion con¬ 
vinced its author of its suitability, as he sought such 
a basis of mutual concession in the relations of the 
two countries, and later, when serious differences 
arose, he worked consistently to this end. Franklin 
greatly regretted the loss of this opportunity to unite 
the provinces, and regarding it he observes:—“Those 
who govern, having much business on their hands, 
do not generally like to take the trouble of consid¬ 
ering and carrying into execution new projects. 
The best public measures are therefore seldom 



One of Franklin s 
Electrical Machines. 


Uribe Bnaineasb or it «iiU Uribe [je*. p . R . 



































TUto of tlje j|tnns»Uianla ©ospltal 


adopted from previous wisdom, but forc’d by the occasion.” 

Hostilities with France were fast approaching and the government of the 
Colony of Massachusetts Bay projected an expedition to capture the enemy’s 
stronghold at Crown Point. To assist in defraying the expense of this Mr. 
Pownall was sent to New York, and Mr. Quincy to Pennsylvania, to solicit 
appropriations from the assemblies of those provinces. Mr. Quincy sought 
Franklin’s aid in the matter and the latter so favorably presented it to the 
assembly that a grant of ten thousand pounds, to be laid out in provisions, was 
voted at once. This was included in a general appropriation bill which required 
the governor’s signature to become operative and that official seized this oppor¬ 
tunity to enforce the customary demand of his principals, the hereditary pro¬ 
prietors, that their estates be exempted from taxation for these purposes. 

This was the perennial bone of contention in Pennsylvania politics and 
the governor remained obdurate alike to the demands of the house and the 
solicitation of Quincy. At this juncture Franklin again effected his purpose 
by finesse and secured the funds without the co-operation of the governor. 
He recalled a provision of the general laws by which the assembly had the 
right to issue orders on the Loan Office, a sort of forerunner of the National 
Banks, whose funds were derived from the interest on paper currency out on 
loans, and the excise revenue. At his suggestion the assembly authorized these 
orders for the ten thousand pounds voted to Massachusetts, and through them 
the money was quickly obtained, to the delight of Mr. Quincy who was deeply 
grateful to Franklin for his good offices, and became one of his firm friends. 

Instead of intrusting the defense of the western frontier to a unification of 
the provincial forces, the British government sent over General Braddock with 
two regiments of regulars to accomplish this purpose, and especially to capture 
Fort Duquesne, a French stronghold on the Ohio river. He landed at Alex- 


@109 jrtjttu jriiat 

jrijtmBtUjes. p . r . 















































andria and marched his troops through Virginia and Maryland to the hostile 
country, insulting and plundering the inhabitants with arrogant freedom. 

The Pennsylvania Assembly learned indirectly that the general was 
strongly prejudiced against it because of supposed antagonism to his service, 
and Franklin was requested to attend the army, as postmaster-general, under 
the pretense of solicitude for its postal facilities, but in reality to assure General 
Braddock of the government’s sympathy with his expedition. He took his son 
with him and they found the army resting at Frederictown while the surround¬ 
ing country was being searched for horses and wagons to transport its stores. 
After spending several days in camp and accomplishing the purpose of his 
visit, Franklin was about to depart when the details returned with the report 
that but twenty-five wagons of a very poor sort could be found. General 
Braddock was dismayed and would have abandoned the campaign but Franklin 
offered his assistance and promised to gather the one-hundred and fifty teams 
required. After arranging the necessary details and securing the general’s 
written agreement to pay the owners for their outfits and services, Franklin 
went to Lancaster and issued an advertisement stating in full just what was 
desired, and followed it with a letter of appeal in which he commended the 
purpose of the expedition and pointed out the prudence of voluntarily furnish¬ 
ing at good remuneration what might otherwise be taken by force. 

These announcements stirred the farmers, and in two weeks the required 
number of four-horse wagons, with drivers, supplies, and upward of two-hundred 
and fifty pack-horses were on their way to the army. General Braddock had 
supplied eight hundred pounds for advance payment but this proved insufficient 
and Franklin advanced two-hundred pounds from his own pocket besides giv¬ 
ing bonds to the amount of twenty thousand pounds to indemnify the owners 
against loss of the equipment. The general was very grateful for this support 
and repaid Franklin for his outlay, thanking him many times for his labor. 
The success of this undertaking led him to request Franklin to forward supplies 
to him while on the march, which the latter promised to do, and returning to 
Philadelphia advanced upwards of one thousand pounds for the purpose. 
Franklin had modestly offered suggestions as to the Indian method of warfare 
but Braddock disdained these with the assurance that his seasoned British 
troops could not possibly be defeated by such tactics, and that Fort Duquesne 
would be speedily taken and the march continued to Niagara. He was 
doomed to a fatal enlightenment from this conceit and before reaching Fort 
Duquesne his army was attacked from ambush, routed with great loss, and the 
general mortally wounded. The demoralized remnant of the forces returned to 
Philadelphia for protection, and Franklin found himself besieged for payment 
for the forfeited property which he had guaranteed. Fortunately he had ren¬ 
dered a bill for the provisions, which had been honored by an order on the 
paymaster just before the defeat, and he was able to satisfy the claimants until 
they were indemnified by General Shirley, otherwise he would have been 
ruined through his zeal. 

Although he had no military aspirations, Franklin’s inseparable connection 
with all important public affairs brought him necessarily to the front in plans 
of defense from the Indians, whose violences were at this time a matter of great 
concern. He was largely instrumental in drafting and passing, in the Assembly, 
a compromise bill by which the proprietors were allowed to contribute specific¬ 
ally the sum of five thousand pounds of an appropriation of sixty thousand 
pounds for defending the frontier, in lieu of submitting to taxation of their 


Diligence <£tomomcs Difficulties, 

Siotij H&aitcs EljenL Poor Richard. 











estates for this purpose, and by the act he was made one of the commissioners 
for expending the fund. At the same time he secured the enactment of a bill 
for establishing and disciplining a volunteer militia, and published a fictitious 
dialogue setting forth many objections to the plan, with convincing answers. 
At a time when the bonds of government were weak and individual independ¬ 
ence aggressive, Franklin’s consistent reliance upon leading rather than coerc¬ 
ing the people in all affairs, was a prime element of his popularity and success, 
and most gratifying evidence of the wisdom of his long-practiced principles of 
intercourse, which may be termed diplomacy but which from the benevolence 
of their intent seem better described as tact. Under the provisions of the first 
bill it was decided to build three forts on the north-western frontier of the 
province, and at the urgent solicitation of the governor, Franklin consented to 
direct the operations. He was commissioned as commander and given full 
power to appoint all subordinate officers, and he soon raised five hundred and 
sixty men, many of them proficient in woodcraft; these he assembled at 
Bethlehem, from whence he set out with the main body for Gnadenhut, a 
Moravian village which had recently been burned and its inhabitants massacred, 
while he sent one detachment northward and another southward to fortify other 
points on the frontier. This was in midwinter and the labor w T as arduous, but 
such was the skill of the men and the effectiveness of his directions that in less 
than a week a fort four hundred and fifty feet in circumference was built of 
logs placed upright in the form of palisades, with loopholes, and a stage around 
the inside six feet from the ground. They encountered no opposition from 
the Indians although evidences were frequently discovered that small parties of 
them had watched the operations. The fort was hardly completed and its 
maintenance provided for, when Franklin received a letter from the governor 
and others from friends in the Assembly, urging him to return as soon as he 
could be spared, to attend the session, which the governor had found it neces¬ 
sary to convene. It happened that Colonel Clapham, a New England officer, 
was on a visit to the place at that time, and Franklin turned over the command 
to him, reading his commission before the men with the assurances that this 
officer was much more competent to direct them than himself, and started back 
to Philadelphia. On reaching Bethlehem he decided to rest a few days to re¬ 
cover from the fatigue of camp life, which had become so habitual that it was 
difficult for him to rest in the good bed here provided. He was much inter¬ 
ested in the conduct and customs of this Moravian settlement and left it with 
increased respect for its people. 

The volunteer association was well under way when he arrived again at 
Philadelphia, nearly twelve hundred men having signed the rolls. The captains 
and other officers of the various companies having been chosen, they elected 
him colonel, and this time having become somewhat accustomed to military 
service, he accepted the command though still somewhat averse to prominence 
of that sort. On the occasion of the first review of his command, which in¬ 
cluded a company of artillery with six brass field-pieces, they accompanied him 
to his home and fired a salute which, he regretfully relates, knocked down and 
broke several pieces of his electrical apparatus. Soon after this an incident 
occurred which testified to his popularity with his officers, although it caused 
Franklin considerable annoyance. Having learned that he was about to start 
on a journey to Virginia, the officers planned to escort him in state to the 
ferry, and, to the number of about forty appeared at his door mounted and in 
uniform, just as he was leaving on horse-back. His description of the incident 


WLtet) Not so J&ucf) to iUOr Hong 

&s to 2 im mtih Poor Richard. 









jFranftUn’s lEsrort 


clearly indicates his attitude toward such affairs:—“I was a good deal chagrin’d 
at their appearance, as I could not avoid their accompanying me. What made 
it worse was, that, as soon as we began to move, they drew their swords and 
rode with them naked all the way. Somebody wrote an account of this to the 
proprietor, and it gave him great offence. No such honor had been paid him 
when in the province, nor to any of his governors ; and he said it was only 
proper to princes of the blood royal, which may be true for aught I know, who 
was, and still am, ignorant of the etiquette in such cases.” 

Though Franklin styles this a “silly affair” the proprietor took it very 
seriously, and made it the occasion of denouncing him to the ministry as plan¬ 
ning to usurp the government, also endeavoring to effect his removal from the 
office of postmaster-general; but his chief enmity toward the offender, of which 
this incident was an excuse more suited to public protest, was the latter’s stead¬ 
fast opposition to the exemption of the proprietary estates from their due share 
of taxation. As a result of this outcry, however, or because it was deemed 
unwise to sanction the beginnings of military strength in the provinces, the law 
under which the Pennsylvania regiment was recruited was repealed in England, 
and the commissions of all its officers withdrawn. 

By his partnership with Mr. Hall, Franklin had now been relieved from 
the active cares of business for about six years, during which, in addition to the 
benevolent and political interests that he had served, he had cultivated his mind 
in many directions, and had conducted and published a long and varied series 
of electrical experiments, which had established him as one of the foremost 
scientists of the world. 

He had in turn received the degree of Master of Arts from both Yale and 
Harvard colleges, and without solicitation he was elected a fellow of the Royal 
Society of London, an unprecedented honor which included special remission of 
the customary fees, and was awarded its Sir Godfrey Copley gold medal. 

He discovered and defined the positive and negative nature of electricity, 
invented new forms of apparatus for producing and displaying it, and exhibited 


a 3Uft of ileteurc, antr a tLift of 
Hainesare p . r . 




















































































JHcworaiUe IBvPtvixntn t WUt\) tfjr 1tUe 


many novel and startling applications of his discoveries. Of these the greatest, 
and the one that brought his fame to the highest point, was his demonstration 
of the identity of the phenomena of thunder and lightning, and the spark 
drawn from the Leyden jar. Long before it had occurred to him to test this 
theory for himself, by means of a kite—as he did later with such notable 
success—there being no high buildings in America, he had written to his friend 
Mr. Collinson of London, suggesting in detail an arrangement of metal rods 
on some tall structure situated on high ground, and during a thunder storm to 
connect this with the prime conductor of a Leyden jar in the expectation 
of its being charged by the electricity of the heavens. This, and other letters 
recording his experiments were read by Mr. Collinson before the Royal Society 
but at the time they received little credence, and to accord them the opportu¬ 
nity to which he believed they were entitled, this gentleman arranged for their 
publication by Mr. Cave the proprietor of the Gentlemen’s Magazine, who 
brought them out collectively in the form of a quarto volume. 

A copy of this work attracted the attention of the Count de Buffon, an 
eminent philosopher of Paris, who arranged for its translation into the French 
language, which led to the successful trial of the proposed experiment of the 
lightning conductor, by the Messieurs Dalibard, the translator, and De Lor. 
The fame of this verification of Franklin’s theory spread rapidly over Europe 
and to England, where, in London, the Royal Society was brought to a real¬ 
ization of the importance of the communications which they had slighted, with 
the result of welcoming the author to fellowship, as above stated. 

In the meantime Franklin had conceived the idea of sending his conductor 
into the clouds by means of a kite, and before he learned of the success of 
Messieurs Dalibard and De Lor, at Marly, he had experienced the satisfaction 
of proving, in Philadelphia, the truth of his theory. There are many dramatic 
accounts of this achievement, and they are quite justified by the importance, 
if not by the circumstances, of the fact; but the discoverer restricts himself to 
the following general directions for performing the experiment: 


miUQtntt te tfjr JUotfjrr of <&ootr HucfL Poor Richard. 
























































































































iFratUtUu in ©fa Hffcrarg 


“Make a small cross of two light strips of cedar, the arm so long as to 
reach to the four corners of a large thin silk handkerchief when extended; tie 
the corners of the handkerchief to the extremities of the cross, so you have the 
body of a kite; which being properly accommodated with a tail, loop and string 
will rise in the air, like those made of paper; but this being silk is fitter to 
bear the wet and wind of a thunder-gust without tearing. To the top of the 
upright stick of the cross is to be fixed a very sharp-pointed wire, rising a foot 
or more above the wood. To the end of the twine, next the hand, is to be 
tied a silk ribbon, and where the silk and twine join, a key may be fastened. 
This kite is to be raised when a thunder-gust appears to be coming on, and 
the person who holds the string must stand within a door or window, or under 
some cover, so that the silk ribbon may not be wet; and care must be taken 
that the twine does not touch the frame of the door or window. As soon as 
any of the thunder-clouds come over the kite, the pointed wire will draw the 
electric fire from them, and the kite with all the twine will be electrified, and 
the loose filaments of the twine will stand out every way, and be attracted by 
an approaching finger. And when the rain has wetted the kite and twine so 
that it can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it stream out plentifully 
from the key on the approach of your knuckle. At this key the phial may be 
charged; and from electric fire thus obtained, spirits may be kindled, and all 
the other electric experiments be performed, which are usually done by the help 
of a rubbed glass globe or tube, and thereby the sameness of the electric matter 
with that of lightning completely demonstrated.” 

Certainly this was a modest way of announcing a discovery that engrossed 
the world, and was held to menace tenets of religion. 

During the long interval that had elapsed since he first left home, Frank¬ 
lin had seldom visited Boston, for which apparent neglect we must find a 
reason in the multiplicity of his affairs, and the difficulties of the journey, as 
his affection for his family was constant, and was expressed frequently by 
letters and remembrances. 


Poor Richard. 










































































































































































































































































































His first visit was made when he had been away ten years, and he called 
on his brother James, who was then in business in Newport, Rhode Island, 
and healed the differences caused by his injudicious conduct on the occasion 
of his earlier return at Governor Keith’s suggestion. He found his brother in 
poor health, and promised in the event of the latter’s death, which seemed, and 
was indeed imminent, to take his son James and train and establish him in the 
printing business, which he faithfully did—after having given him several years 
schooling—by which he felt that he had made amends for his brother s loss 
through his own defaulted service. 

His father, Josiah Franklin, died in 1744, and his mother Abiah, in 175 2 ' 
The fullness and character of his regard for them are evidenced by this inscrip¬ 
tion, which he placed on the monument which he erected over their graves, in 
the Granary burying-ground, in Boston ; it is alike creditable to parents and to 
the son:— 


Josiah Franklin and Abiah his wife 
lie here interred. 

They lived lovingly together in wedlock fifty-five years; 
and without an estate or any gainful employment, 
by constant labour, and honest industry, 

(with God’s blessing,) 
maintained a large family comfortably; 
and brought up thirteen children and seven grand¬ 
children reputably. 

From this instance, reader, 
be encouraged to dilligence in thy calling, 
and distrust not Providence. 

He was a pious and prudent man, 
she a discreet and virtuous woman. 

Their youngest son, 
in filial regard to their memory, 
places this stone. 

J. F. born 1655—died 1744,— M. 89. 

A. F. born 1667—died 1752,— JE. 85. 




In August 1756, Governor Morris was superseded by Captain William 
Denny, and Pennsylvania entered upon an administration destined to imperil 
the foundations of its liberties, in whose defence Franklin, the recognized 
leader, was to be called to the beginning of a long and fruitful term of service 
on the other side of the Atlantic. 


#jonor arijw jFatJjer ana SKJjy Jtlottjer, *. fU&e so as to t>e 

^n ®onotr to Efjctu Ctjo' £Jjcy are Deaa. Poor Richard. 





















Ben j aw fn 


v 


van it tin 


Governor Denny brought to Franklin the gold medal awarded him by 
the Royal Society, and he took the opportunity, after presenting it on a public 
occasion, to withdraw with the recipient and endeavor to cajole him into a 
favorable regard for the demands of the proprietor in matters of taxation, 
promising him ample reward in money and honors if he would lend his influence 
in the Assembly toward harmony with his, the Governor’s measures. 

In reply, Franklin, with his usual courteous directness, assured the Gov¬ 
ernor that he desired to be friendly with the proprietor, and would do every¬ 
thing in his power to render the administration of his agent easy and agreeable 
so long as it was not in conflict with the rights of the people, whose interests 
he should continue to serve; adding, that through God’s blessing his circum¬ 
stances were such as to render unnecessary any favors from the proprietor, and 
that as a member of the Assembly it would be unlawful for him to receive such. 
He further expressed the hope that Governor Denny was not bound by the 
instructions which had been such a source of trouble with the previous admin¬ 
istration. 

The Governor did not choose to enlighten him on that point, but the 
course of events soon revealed the obnoxious requirements, and after some 
months of fruitless effort on the part of the Assembly to secure approval of 
bills which contemplated taxation of the proprietary estates, and of equally 
fruitless effort by Governor Denny to obtain specific exemption of these estates, 
matters reached a crisis on the governor’s rejection of a revenue bill based on 
an excise tax, which the House thought an unobjectional expedient, but which 
also proved incompatib.e with the “instructions,” the bill being returned to 
the Assembly with the announcement that as there was in those parts no person 
to judge between the governor and the House, the former would immediately 
transmit to his Majesty his reasons for so doing. As all the interests of the 
province must suffer from a lack of funds following such a deadlock, the 
H ouse, after recovering from the consternation resulting from this affront, 
passed the necessary bill in a form acceptable to the governor, having first in a 
series of resolutions, recorded its sense of injury and the reasons for concession 
on this occasion. The situation in which it now found itself was regarded as 
intolerable, and the Assembly further resolved that a remonstrance be drawn 
up and presented to the King and Parliament and that the two most honored 
members, Mr. Norris, the Speaker, and Benjamin Franklin, be requested to go 
to England and urge the redress of their grievences. Mr. Norris, pleading 
age and ill-health as excuses, begged to be allowed to decline, but Franklin, after 
protesting that his colleague was well qualified to accomplish the matter with¬ 
out his assistance, offered himself for any service that the House might require. 
Mr. Norris remaining firm in his refusal, it was resolved, that “Benjamin 
Franklin be and he is hereby appointed agent of this province, to solicit and 
transact the affairs thereof in Great Britain.” Franklin’s son William, then 
Clerk of the House, was granted leave of absence to accompany him, and the sum 
of fifteen hundred pounds was voted to defray the expenses of the mission. 

Franklin prepared to start immediately, and had engaged passage and sent 
his stores on board the packet at New York, when Lord Loudon, then in 
command of the King’s forces in the colonies, arrived at Philadelphia for the 
purpose of reconciling the affairs of the province, and the journey was delayed 
pending a discussion of the matter. As his lordship was unable to alter the 
conditions, nothing was accomplished, and Franklin and his son resumed their 
preparation and started for New York, the packet with their stores having in 


<®nt Jftas tie JHove <&ttu«Cn 0 Efjan knottier, Uut Not 
jttorc CunnfH 0 ZCJjan J5toer»t>olrfi 151st. Poor Richard 











ST tie ILift atitr 


Services of 



the meantime sailed. On account of 
the dilatoriness of Lord Loudon, to 
whose orders they were subject, the 
sailing of other packets was greatly 
delayed, and months elapsed before 
the reports for which they waited 
were ready and they were allowed 
to depart. Franklin’s ship, though at 
first handicapped by faulty stowage of 
the cargo, proved, when that was rem¬ 
edied, to be the fastest of the fleet, and 
after a somewhat eventful voyage of 
thirty days, during which they were 
several times chased by hostile craft, 
and at the end narrowly escaped ship¬ 
wreck on the Scilly Isles, they arrived 
at Falmouth, where Franklin and his 
son disembarked and traveled over¬ 
land to London, arriving on the 26th 
of July, 1757. 

After resting a while at the home 
of his friend Peter Collinson, and 
there receiving many of his old 
friends, and those with whom his 
scientific works had brought him 
into correspondence, Franklin and 
his son took up their abode with 
Mrs. Margaret Stevenson in Craven 
Street, Strand, William Franklin en- 



Stvect, Howftow 


tering at once upon the study of law, while his father set to work upon the 
business of the Assembly. He obtained an interview with the Messrs. Penn 
and endeavored to conciliate and show them the injustice of their restrictive 
instructions to the Governor, but they refused to bend, and kept him at a dis¬ 
tance with quibbling objections to the form of his petition, asserting that it 
would be impossible to take any action for a long time, as it was the beginning 
of the vacation season and the lawyers upon whom they depended for advice 
were away. 

Following this damper to his hopes Franklin was taken with a serious 
illness in the form of an intermittent fever, which, with the misguided medical 
treatment of that day, incapacitated him for eight weeks. On his recovery he 
engaged the services of leading councillors and sought to prosecute his mission, 
but it was a year before the Proprietaries took any action, and then they ignored 
Franklin and sent an unconcessional reply to the Assembly through Governor 
Denny. 

During this time and later, he vainly attempted to secure an interview with 
the powerful and friendly William Pitt, Lord Chatham, and another year 
passed without any advancement of his cause. With the help of his son he 
had replied in the newspapers to many calumnious articles inspired by the Pro¬ 
prietaries, and had published and distributed hundreds of copies of a large 
volume giving the full history of the controversy between the Assembly and 
the Governors. This work attracted considerable attention favorable and other- 


Kt’B ©onttnon for Jfltn to ©Hit jjrtttnKrti 
iUasons Knstta# of <S>wt JfUal ©ne. p. r. 

















































































wise, but did not appreciably improve 
the situation, and Franklin settled 
down to a life of social and scientific 
gratification, varied with vacation trips 
which included a visit to Wellingbor¬ 
ough and Ecton, where his ancestors 
had lived, and where he yet found 
several cousins. On one of these 
occasions Franklin and his son spent 
six weeks in Scotland, and were lav¬ 
ishly entertained and honored by the 
universities and the leading people. 
The University of St. Andrews had 
previously conferred on him the 
degree of Doctor of Laws, which in 
its essential became his recognized 
title. He also visited Cambridge and 
was flatteringly received and enter¬ 
tained by the chancellors and the 
heads of the colleges. 

He wrote many interesting let¬ 
ters to his wife and daughter, and 
frequently sent them presents of dress 
goods and household furnishings, 
while in return they sent many delica¬ 
cies such as he was accustomed to in 
America. 

His first real success in his work 
came in 1760 when the Proprietaries 
raised great objection to a recent act 
of the Assembly in issuing notes to the amount of ^100,000 which were to 
be met by taxation of all estates and property not excepting those of the 
brothers Penn. 

Governor Denny had given up the struggle, and had been replaced by 
Mr. James Hamilton, a Philadelphian, who was a little less hampered by pro¬ 
prietary restrictions, and in the absence of Franklin, the Assembly went to 
greater lengths of self-assertion. A ponderous committee was appointed by 
the Privy Council to pass upon the measure before it was submitted for the 
approval of the King, who, by the terms of the charter, had the power to repeal 
obnoxious acts. This committee reported very harshly and recommended that 
the act be repealed. 

When the news of this was received, Franklin was about starting on a visit 
to Ireland, but he unpacked his satchels and gave all his energy to securing a 
reversal of the recommendation, as the act had been in force for some time 
before knowledge of it reached England and much of the currency was already 
issued. By promising to urge an amendment which, apparently, would 
somewhat relieve the Proprietaries, he secured their assent, and from 
the committee a strong recommendation for approval of the measure. This 
was in due course placed before King George II and the Privy Council, and 
readily allowed. The amendment was never passed by the Assembly, though 
it was frequently addressed to this end by Governor Hamilton, acting for the 



3 Jotju 2£w ox f & ?£ou0e 
JbiQt) Strinfiutrs 


¥ou SomctoJjat to Do <2To= 

worroto; Do Xt £o=&ag» Poor Richard . 














































Services of 



at 


'■Mmsm 


Rafting JMin Degree at #sfortr aanifcersftg 


Penns, it being contended that a fair consideration of the original bill would 
show it based on the elements called for in the amendment. Besides prevent¬ 
ing the embarrassment that would have resulted from the recall of outstanding 
currency, this victory was important in its bearing on the subservience of the 
Assembly to the brothers Penn, whose powers were thereafter much lessened. 

Although Franklin remained in England two years after this, he ac¬ 
complished little more for the cause of the province. He took a prominent 
part in the controversies resulting from the change in the ministry and policy 
at the death of George II, and the ascension of George III, and was credited 
with much good influence on important questions. He continued his scientific 
and literary pursuits, and in the summer of 1761, he and his son made a tour 
of the Low Countries. 

Franklin planned to return to America early in the spring of 1762, but 
owing to affairs of his own, and the unreadiness of the vessel, it was late in 
autumn before he arrived in Philadelphia. During this interval he visited 
Oxford and received from the university the honorary degree Doctor of 
Canon Law, and William Franklin, who had completed his legal studies and had 
been admitted to the bar, was granted that of Master of Arts. William had 
gained a considerable following on his own account, through his undoubted 
abilities and his close association with his father, and his crowning triumph 
came just before the date set for their departure, in the appointment to the 
governorship of New Jersey. This was judged to have been obtained for him 
without solicitation, and in the face of many aspirants, by his friend Lord Bute, 
then the most powerful man in Parliament, and it aroused considerable protest 
in England, although it was well received in the Province, where the new 
Governor was highly honored on his arrival the following February. 

Dr. Franklin left Portsmouth, without his son, in the latter part of August, 
and after a very pleasant voyage of nine weeks in a merchantman sailing with 
a large fleet, arrived at Philadelphia on the first of November, having been 
absent six years from his home and friends. A few days after his father sailed, 

Hi ¥ou aaiottltr lUaji JJratse ¥ott J0ust Soto tt)t 
See&s, ©fentlt S^oriis ana JStsefnl ZJceas. p . r . 

































































































































Urn jam (tt 


^g =r:—- = —=■■: — = 



jFtanfeUn 37 


but with his knowledge and consent, Governor Franklin was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Downes, a young woman who had come to London from the West 
Indies, and it was with the announcement of this in the London Chronicle that his 
new appointment was first published. He entered matrimony, having an ille¬ 
gitimate son, William Temple, then about two years old, thus repeating his 
own relation to his father. 

Franklin greatly enjoyed the reunion with his family and old associates, 
and took especial comfort in the society of his daughter Sarah, a beautiful girl 
of eighteen. With full honors bestowed upon him, he planned to live the rest 
of his life in ease, and gratify all his yearnings for hospitality and recreation, 
but the disturbances that led to the inevitable conflict with the mother country 
soon claimed his services and drew him into his former activity. 

In October, 1763, Governor Hamilton resigned, and John Penn arrived 
from England to take his place. It was thought by the Pennsylvanians that 
this would facilitate the work of the Assembly, as it seemed probable that a 
member of the Penn family would be less restricted by instructions and likely 
to act more on his own judgment, which a direct knowledge of conditions 
would incline favorably to the public cause. Like his predecessors, he showed 
great consideration at first, but this proved of short duration, and he soon seized 
an opportunity to ally himself with the party in opposition to liberty and advance¬ 
ment. This opportunity was the outcome of the deplorable massacre of a few 
friendly Indians, the last of a tribe that had made the treaty with his grand¬ 
father, William Penn. They were murdered by a party of fanatics from the 
district of Paxton, and when a second raid on a larger band of another such 
tribe was imminent, he called on Franklin for help, and through the latter’s 
writings and personal efforts in bringing these civilized and Christian aborigines 
to Philadelphia, protecting them with a garrison hurriedly raised, and then 
meeting and discouraging the attacking party as it neared Philadelphia, the 
Indians were saved and another blot on the history of the province was averted. 
As a reward for this help in an extremity, the Governor turned against Franklin 
and having found, in the country districts, a considerable approval for the 
indiscriminate extermination of the Indians, he set his seal on a proclamation 
offering a large bounty for the capture or scalping of any Indian, male or 
female. From this point of departure he lent his influence to the demands of 
two minority parties, the landed aristocrats, of which he was naturally one, and 
the lowest dregs of a half assimilated peasantry. 

All the old differences he intensified with greater arrogance, and matters 
reached such a pass that the Assembly adjourned to test the sentiment of the 
people on a proposed address to the King, begging him to assume the direct 
government of the province according to the terms of the original grant, mak¬ 
ing to the Proprietors such compensation for the cession of their vested rights 
as he might deem wise. The Assembly met again on the 14th of May, 1764, 
after an interval of seven months, and it was found that an overwhelming 
majority of the voters had signed the petitions approving the address to the 
King. The venerable speaker, Mr. Isaac Norris, weakened at the last moment 
and resigned his office rather than sign so radical a measure, and Franklin, one 
of its steadfast champions, was elected to the place and signed the petition. 

At this time the suggestion of a stamp tax for the colonies, to help meet 
the large debt resulting from the war with France, was made by George Gren¬ 
ville, the prime minister of England, but the opposition to this form of tribute 
was so pronounced that the plan was for a time abandoned. 


pjas eftaufl'fc <Dne ovae 

fox a JJUnir Poor Richard. 















At the election in the following October, Franklin met his first defeat at 
the polls. All through the summer a vigorous campaign was waged by the 
conservatives who formed the Penn government, and by the liberals who de¬ 
sired to free the province from it. Tactics of all kinds were employed to 
prevent the re-election of Franklin, who, as usual, depended entirely on a dis¬ 
semination of his principles and arguments in pamphlet form. So great was 
the attendance at the polls that they were kept open from nine o’clock, October 
first, until three o’clock in the afternoon of the next day, and when the counting 
was finished nearly twenty-four hours later, it was found that the new ticket had 
triumphed and Franklin and nearly all his Philadelphia associates were defeated, 
the former by a majority of twenty-five votes only. In view of the fact that 
he had been elected to the Assembly for fourteen years, during six of which he 
was absent from the country, without seeking the place or asking any one 
to vote for him, and that in spite of extensive fraudulent voting by his oppo¬ 
nents the majority against him was so small, Franklin found little to depress 
him in the result, and when the House, which, by a return of most of the old 
members from other counties, still had a majority over the Proprietary party, 
immediately elected him again to the office of agent of the Province in England, 
he willingly accepted and prepared to take up the work, notwithstanding his 
advanced years and the sacrifice of his hoped for leisure. 

This appointment aroused bitter protest from the Penn adherents, and he 
was assailed with violent criticism, both political and personal, but complacent 
in his knowledge of its falseness, he bore this with his usual equanimity. 

On the seventh of November, but twelve days after his election as agent, 
he was escorted to Chester, a few miles below Philadelphia, by three hundred 
citizens on horseback, and there embarked once more for England, which he 
reached after a short but stormy passage. He hoped to make his stay abroad 
short on this occasion, a prospect which somewhat mitigated the pain of leaving 
his wife and daughter, for whom his solicitude was tenderly expressed in a 
parting letter despatched from the ship as it was leaving the Delaware. 

The news of his safe arrival in London was hailed with great joy in Phil¬ 
adelphia, and the bells were rung until nearly midnight, the cheering knowledge 
of which he received in one of his first letters from home. 

Franklin returned at once to his old lodgings with Mrs. Stevenson, in 
Craven street, and in a very short time was actively working to prevent the 
passage of the Stamp Act, which he found the all absorbing topic in political 
circles. With the other American Agents he had interviews with Prime 
Minister Grenville, and personally, he employed all his resources of acquaintance 
and argument to avert this strain between the home government and the 
colonies, but entirely without avail, as Grenville had promised Parliament that he 
would present such a measure, and he was firm in this determination, although 
courteous in his reception of the remonstrants, and fair enough to request from 
them an alternative measure that would accomplish the purpose without occa¬ 
sioning resentment. He did not, however, choose to so regard Franklin’s 
announcement that he was authorized to promise that the Pennsylvania Assem¬ 
bly would vote and pay its proportionate part of the desired funds, if requested 
by the King, in the constitutional manner. 

The act passed almost unanimously, with little thought that it would 
excite anything more serious than a temporary grumbling at the burden of the 
tax. This was to be raised almost wholly upon paper books and documents, 
and affairs pertaining to the transaction of business, and the American agents 


fee ®tiat Scatters JTtjorns, 

act felm Not ©o Barefoot. Poor Richard. 













Ucuf iitnin 




jFranfclfn Ntatrfng 25uglanlr 
on Jt )is EfjCtJr Voyage 


were requested to name 
suitable residents of their 
several provinces for ap¬ 
pointment as Stamp Offi¬ 
cers, which they did as 
a matter of expediency; 
Franklin observed at the 
time that he could not be 
sure that his nominees 
would serve, but in the 
clamorthat arosethrough- 
out the colonies on the 
receipt of the news of the 
passage of the act and the 
appointment of the depu¬ 
ties, the agents were im¬ 
moderately blamed for 
thus approving the enact¬ 
ment. While such was 
not their intention,Frank¬ 
lin privately advised a 
friend at home to submit to the oppression without resistance, trusting that it 
would be only transient and that England might be made, by peaceable 
methods, to realize its error; and without doubt this was then his sincere 
attitude, resulting from a deep-rooted attachment to the mother country, and 
an inherent tendency toward expediency rather than impetuosity. 

Later, when the question of repeal came up, his attitude had undergone a 
marked change, influenced, no doubt to a large degree, by a knowledge of the 
implacable opposition which the act provoked. He was, however, calumniated 
as a traitor, and the safety of his family and property menaced, when he, believ¬ 
ing no other course available, was simply a peacemaker. 

With the fall of the Grenville ministry before the time appointed for the 
inauguration of the stamp regime; the tremendous non-importation reprisals 
and the accession of a more liberal ministry under the Marquis of Rockingham; 
with Mr. Edmund Burke, a fervent friend and admirer of America and private 
secretary to Lord Rockingham, elected to Parliament,—the fortunes of the col¬ 
onies seemed likely to speedily improve, and such was indeed the outcome. 
The British merchants that were suffering severely from the loss of American 
trade, assailed Parliament from without, while Rockingham, Pitt, Burke, 
and General Conway worked within, and Franklin, called to the bar, 
underwent an examination by friends and foes, championing his country in 
argument and presentation in a manner to arouse the admiration and enthusi¬ 
asm of his friends on both sides of the ocean, and so to confound his enemies 
that they entered heartily into the general applause, when, as a result of all 
these favorable conditions, and in spite of royal disapproval and minority 
intrigues, the odious act was repealed and the yoke of tyranny lifted from the 
revolting colonists. 

It is difficult to believe that any man could undergo such a catechising as 
this and not in some slight degree fail through the inadequacy or weakness of 
his answers to the varied questioning of successive inquirers, but he did not 
once give the opening that his opponents hoped to secure,— some of his ex- 


WLittyout Sttsttce (fcotiraae 

mtau. Poor Richard. 








































40 sctjf JLift ana 




ScvUtcns of 




jFrawKlfn aliasing efteos toftf) 
JLorS JSjotoe’s Sister 


temporaneous replies 
being marvels of non¬ 
committal adroitness, 
while his arguments 
and answers to friendly 
questions brought out 
every pertinent fact and 
figure,every sentiment, 
result, and possibility 
bearing on his cause. 

After this monu¬ 
mental triumph Frank¬ 
lin hoped that he could 
be excused from fur¬ 
ther service, and asked 
permission of the As¬ 
sembly to return home, 
but instead of granting 
this, it elected him for 
another year. Fie con¬ 
tinued in London, and 
in 1768 he was elected 
to a similar agency by Georgia, and later by New Jersey, and Massachusetts, 
which gave him a considerable standing as spokesman for America. In the 
absence of particular crises following the repeal of the Stamp Act, he employed 
much of his time in attempting to win the British public to a sympathy for the 
American cause, in the course of which he wrote and published in the news¬ 
papers brilliant anonymous articles of questionable propriety for an ambassador, 
and his authorship becoming known, lines of division were more sharply drawn 
between the Whigs, who favored his cause, and the Tories, the governing 
party which antagonized it, with the result that little good and much harm 
ensued. 

While endeavoring to convince a member of Parliament of the tractability 
of the Americans under reasonable conditions, he learned that inflammatory 
letters had been written to an English official by Governor Hutchinson and 
Lieutenant Governor Oliver, of Massachusetts. These letters placed the people 
of America in a very quarrelsome and unfavorable light, and recommended re¬ 
pressive measures. As these were averred, and held, to be the sentiments of a 
majority of the best people of the Colony, they carried much weight and were 
exhibited privately to Franklin to prove his misunderstanding of the situation. 
Knowing fully their unreliability and baseness, Franklin secured these for 
discreet exhibition in America, under the promise that they would not be 
copied or published, and they were sent to Boston for the edification of a few 
chosen patriots. By being passed from one to another of the leaders, and read 
in a secret session of the Assembly, they soon became commonly known, and 
were published on both sides of the ocean. In Massachusetts the feeling was 
very strong against Gov. Hutchinson, who was a native American, and had 
been much honored by the people before his appointment by the Crown. 

A petition for his removal, and that of the Lieutenant Governor, in the 
interest of peace and harmony, was sent to the King, but its effect was only to 
inflame the already avowed opposition which was pleased to believe every 


230 isrot 23 o artjat ¥ou ^ouni 

ISTot t mwo ton* Poor Richard. 



























Ur uf am in 


jFtanfelfn 


word of Hutchinson’s arraignment, and which welcomed the opportunity pre¬ 
sented by the compromising situation in which Franklin was placed by his 
acknowledgement of responsibility for despatching the letters. 

The strained relations following this episode culminated at the meeting of 
the Privy Council called to act upon the petition of Massachusetts. Franklin 
in his capacity as agent presented his case through counsel, but it was a fore¬ 
gone conclusion that the request would be refused; it would, in fact, have re¬ 
ceived no official attention had it not been for the opportunity it offered for 
arraigning Franklin on the score of securing and imparting the letters; 
Many distinguished members and visitors were present and the resentment of 
the Tories, who formed the council, was intense. Alexander Wedderburn, a 
Scotch barrister, represented Hutchinson and Oliver, and when his turn arrived 
he launched into a comprehensive speech eulogising the officials and denying 
any ground for dissatisfaction with his clients. He then expatiated on the 
culpability of Franklin, the acknowledged offender, and denounced his entire 
conduct from the secret procuring, to the final return of the letters. His 
attack was offensive personally and crushing politically, but during its delivery 
Franklin maintained a serene dignity that was proof against all accusation and 
innuendo. He could not, however, combat the charges, as he would not dis¬ 
close the identity of the one who had given him the letters, and the council 
had no sympathy with his mollification proposals. 

Having broken Franklin’s power, the Ministry sought, through indirect 
channels, to weaken his purpose. It was arranged that he should play chess 
with Mrs. Howe, sister of Admiral Lord Howe, and at one of these games 
she, with seeming inadvertence, urged upon him his fitness to act as mediator 
between the two countries. This idea was also broached by Dr. Fothergill, 
and David Barclay, a Tory member of Parliament, and led to frequent meet¬ 
ings and consultations with intimates of the Ministers, particularly with Lord 
Howe, who was one of the closest of these; and at their request Franklin pre¬ 
pared a schedule of terms upon which he thought it possible to secure peace. 
This was unswerving in its provision for the rehabilitation and liberties of the 
colonies, and, as might have been expected, was almost wholly distasteful to 
the Tory leaders, who then endeavored to bribe Franklin, by personal consid¬ 
erations of patronage and financial regard, to lend his influence to the Crown 
for the unatoned acquiescence of his countrymen in America. Franklin spurned 
the advances, and, after witnessing in the House of Lords a violent denuncia¬ 
tion of everything American, he put his affairs in the hands of Arthur Lee, 
who had been sent to take his place 
when he should give up the work, and 
quietly leaving London he embarked 
for home. 

His discretion in this respect was 
warranted, and it was a matter for 
congratulation that he escaped arrest for 
treason on account of the ramifications 
of the Hutchinson affair, as the Gov¬ 
ernment was only waiting for direct 
evidence of this, which it hoped to 
secure in the return of certain of his 
letters to the Colonies, to finally dis¬ 
pose of him. 



„_V*" ' PHW Dili cn\itu»the 
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V.iUuj iticri-qf G’Jt.O 

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'< -*-> * tod.-tf.hii, I, 1776 ^ 



Early American Currency. 


*N0 eafns umnottt JlafufiL p . r . 


























During this time the breach between the two countries had materially 
widened. While Franklin was being arraigned in England, the Colonists had 
rejected British tea, and at Boston had thrown it overboard, with the result of 
the closing of that port by Parliament as a retaliatory measure. Before he 
reached Philadelphia the battle of Lexington had been fought, and all hope of 
peace and reconciliation had passed. 

H is wife had died during his absence, and his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Bache, 
was in charge of the new house, which also had been built while he was away. 

The first fruit of his discredit in England, had been his dismissal from 
the office of Postmaster General, but he was not suffered to realize his leisure, 
as on the day after his arrival he was elected by the Assembly as one of Penn¬ 
sylvania’s deputies to the Continental Congress, which was soon to meet again 
in Philadelphia. 

Now that the die was cast, he entered heartily into the struggle for inde¬ 
pendence, and at once became a leader in the Congress and the Committee of 
Safety, beside which he was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, and made 
Postmaster-General of the united colonies. Events moved rapidly, and soon 
the American army was organized at Cambridge, with Washington at its head. 
While this was taking place, Franklin was one of three commissioners who 
waited on the army to arrange for supplies and settle other matters relating to 
the war. Soon after this he was called upon to visit Canada, in the hope of 
winning that colony to the cause of independence. Charles Carroll, of Mary¬ 
land, was chosen to go with him, and they induced the former’s brother, John 
Carroll, a Roman Catholic priest, to accompany them and use his influence 
with the clergy of the French 
Canadian church. This jour¬ 
ney was begun late in the 
winter of 1775-76, and its 
hardships bore heavily on 
Franklin, now seventy years 
of age. He believed it un¬ 
likely that he would reach 
home again, and wrote sev¬ 
eral farewell letters from 
Saratoga, where he had an 
attack of the gout, which 
disease had, at various times 
in his life, caused him much 
suffering and confinement. 

They reached Montreal, 
however, though to no pur¬ 
pose, as the Canadians had 
become strongly prejudiced 
against the revolutionists, 
on account of an unsuccess¬ 
ful campaign by General 
Montgomery against the 
British stronghold at Que¬ 
bec, and the bills which 
his army had contracted 
and left unpaid. 



William ’Temple Franklin , 
Son of Governor Franklin. 


No J&an IS'er Winn Glorious 
®2£tio ZZXati Not HatJorfou&u p. R. 


























jFraufcUu 43 



On his return to Philadelphia, Franklin was made a member of the con¬ 
vention called to frame a constitution for Pennsylvania, and in Congress he was 
an ardent advocate of the declaration of independence, soon to establish this 
nation before the world. He also went to New York, at the request of Lord 
H owe, who had arrived there in command of the British fleet, and who still 
hoped to make peace. Other commissioners were in attendance, and the party 
was very courteously received by Lord Howe, but as the Americans now 
demanded recognitijn of the United States, and he had authority only to 
receive the submission of the Colonies, no result could be reached. 

Franklin’s trials and laLors, at this period, were augmented by the position 
of his son William, who, as royal governor of New Jersey, was unalterably 
opposed to all that his father was working for. Many conferences took place 
between them, but without avail, and Governor Franklin was eventually, 
by order of Congress, sent to Connecticut, and there held under guard until the 
end of the war, to the great distress of his wife, who finally succumbed to her 
sorrow and privations, and died before he was released. 

The prosecution of the war of the revolution was a tremendous and dis¬ 
couraging undertaking for the new and but half amalgamated nation. Many 
supplies, for which England had been their only source, now must be manufact¬ 
ured or drawn from other countries. The moral support of these countries 
must also be obtained and, if possible, their financial and physical aid. This 
necessitated agents abroad, and later, on apprisal of a friendly disposition of 
France, recommended an embassy at the French Court. Congress appointed to 
this service Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane, who was then in Paris as secret agent, and 
Thomas Jefferson. Mrs. Jefferson was in ill health, and the brilliant author of 
the Declaration of Independence was unable to accept the position, which was 
given to Arthur Lee, Franklin’s successor in London, who was also acting as 
agent in Europe. 

Franklin took his appointment with equanimity, although another ocean 
voyage and a renewal of ambassadorial labors could not but be a tax on the 
waning strength of a man of seventy years. As a parting testimonial of his 
faith and liberality he collected and loaned to Congress all of his funds that 
were available at short notice,—upwards of three thousand pounds; an example 
that was beneficial beyond its pecuniary importance. Just one month after the 
vote of Congress, on the 26th of October, 1776, he passed cautiously down 
the river, with his grandsons, William Temple Franklin and Benjamin Franklin 
Bache, and the next day reached Marcus Hook, where the “ Reprisal,” a swift 
recruit to the new navy, waited in readiness to smuggle them through the 
cordon of British ships and bear him once more across the Atlantic. 

Good luck attended the voyage, although it was stormy and dangerous, 
and in thirty-three days they were landed at Auray, on the coast of France, 
with two prizes, British merchantmen with valuable cargoes, to contribute funds 
for the mission. 

He had for years enjoyed great popularity in France, and his reception 
was correspondingly generous and enthusiastic. Auray was a small and unat¬ 
tractive place, and although Dr. Franklin was very weak from the confinement 
and roughness of the passage, they set out for Nantes as soon as they were able 
to obtain a post-chaise, which was not until the next day. At Nantes they 
were entertained by Monsieur Gruel, an active friend of America, at his 
spacious country house, and at his earnest solicitation Franklin remained there 
upwards of a week to recuperate before continuing his journey. 

2 Tfjat Si^ou't 1 H CouusclDtr 

<&an f t iSt Poor Richard. 











His arrival at this important and flourishing port was honored by a large 
gathering of friends of the American cause, and personal admirers of Dr. 
Franklin, who arranged a “grand dinner” which Franklin attended. His stay 
with M. Gruel was a continuous ovation, and he met many well informed 
persons who advised him as to the progress and state of affairs — particularly 
those of America—at Court. 

After a sufficient rest, he continued toward Paris, and without notable 
adventure arrived there on the twenty-second of December. 

His coming, which until his arrival at Nantes was unexpected, had 
been widely heralded, and Paris, with its accessible world, was in a flutter of 
expectation regarding this wonderful old man and the momentous cause he was 
to advocate. He came to the world’s capital of elegance and luxury; he 
brought simplicity and directness of a most accomplished and engaging type. 
He found learning, culture, and humanity of an old world fullness, and he 
reflected all these with an added lustre, individuality, wisdom, and humility. 
He personified a type which the philosophy and affections of a people sated 
with convention and display, eagerly accepted as the ideal of agreeable democ¬ 
racy. His endowment of their own graces was the medium which made his 
unique qualities intelligible, and the cause he represented was to France person¬ 
ified in Franklin, and accordingly beloved. From Louis XVI to his humblest 
subject there was admiration and respect for this kindly old man who labored 
unceasingly for the enfranchisement of a people, but in the brilliant circles center¬ 
ing at Versailles he found his most sympathetic confreres and associates. His 
marked partiality for the society of clever women found ample opportunity, 
and his relations with the Countess d’Houdetot, Madame Helvetius, and 
Madame Brillon, as revealed in delightful epistles and essays, were intimate 
and affectionate. 

Painters, sculptors, and engravers, in endless succession, reproduced his 
features or glorified him in extravagant allegory, testifying alike their own 
enthusiasm and the market value of everything pertaining to the adored 
American. His popularity was instant, and remains without an equal in the 
relations of the two countries. 

The immediate practical ne¬ 
cessities of the American govern¬ 
ment were arms and equipments 
for its troops, and when Franklin 
settled down to his work in Paris the 
machinery for supplying these had 
been well organized and set in 
motion. 

Following the earlier move¬ 
ments of Congress, commercial 
agents, one after another, had de¬ 
parted for Europe and busied 
themselves to secure credit for these 
goods, and the means of forwarding 
them. Among those so commis¬ 
sioned was Monsieur Penet, a 
French merchant then in Philadel¬ 
phia, whose enthusiasm was abund¬ 
ant, but whose personal resources 

IFou No ^onts fn ¥our $ot 

alsc Some fn ¥ottr iWoutlj. Poor Richard. 



Silver Pot , with motto “Keep bright the 
chain” 'presented by Franklin to a friend . 
















auegorj? of jFranfelfn SwUaufng tfje IL(0t)tninfl 

antr Srstvoying grants. (From a French Print.) 

were not great. Franklin, who had at that time no expectation of visiting 
France, supplied him with letters of introduction to influential people, and 
in particular to Dr. Duborg, a scientist with whom he was closely associ¬ 
ated and who was zealous in the American cause. M. Penet reached Paris 
without his credentials, which he left in Flolland through fear of being 
intercepted and robbed of them in traveling to France, but he succeeded 
in convincing Dr. Duborg of the authenticity of his agency, and the latter at 
once introduced him to a number of high officials of the French Court, 
who showed a disposition to grant secretly the financial aid on which his 
efforts depended. Dr. Duborg proved so well situated to influence the Court 
that M. Penet prevailed on him to assume the responsibility of forwarding the 
business at that end, while he, personally, visited the manufactories and 
seaports to procure and ship the supplies. Dr. Duborg accepted the charge tem¬ 
porarily, and was of great assistance pending the arrival of Silas Deane, a duly 
accredited commissioner to Europe, who sailed a few months after M. Penet. 
Dr. Duborg related his operations in a long letter to Franklin, which, being 
read before Congress, gratified most opportunely its waning hopes of foreign 
assistance. At this time a star of exceptional power dominated the firmament 
of the French court, in the person of Caron de Beaumarchais, author of The 
Barber of Seville, horologist, musician, financier, gallant, and favorite, who 
espoused the cause of the Colonies, and was made the agent under whose cover 

JHonej? anir ©008 banners 
UtlaKc Hje (Gentleman. p . r . 



























































£i)C 2Life anti 




Services of 



the King dispensed his aid. The house of Hortalez & Co. was organized and 
imposingly located in Paris, and there Beaumarchais, its sole visible executive, 
received loans from France and Spain, and expended them for guns, ammuni¬ 
tion, and clothing, which were, in one way or another, landed in America, 
despite the watchful and seemingly effective remonstrance of Lord Stormont, the 
English ambassador. Though more brilliant than profound in the arguments 
by which he won the King’s support, and actuated by motives not wholly philan¬ 
thropic, Beaumarchais entered heartily into this undertaking, and staked his own 
resources and interests to a greater degree than he was then credited with. The 
French funds were provided as a loan, to be repaid by the Colonies in tobacco 
and other products as was convenient, but, through misinformation supplied by 
Arthur Lee, who had arrived at Paris, Congress regarded them as a gift, and 
did not seriously heed its benefactor’s requests for an equivalent, with the 
result that he was caused financial distress from which he never wholly 
recovered. Silas Deane, whose resources, dispatched by Congress in the form 
of cargoes of tobacco, fish, and rice, failed to arrive, availed himself eagerly of 
Beaumarchais’ assistance, and became the medium of the latter’s dealings with 
Congress. Though Deane was useful in many ways, and subsequently friendly 
and helpful to Franklin, he was unduly blamed in America for his part in send¬ 
ing to this country an embarrassing accession of unwelcome and incompetent 
French officers — among whom LaFayette, DeKalb, and Steuben were notable 
exceptions — which, with the troubles resulting from impaired credit and the 
indifference of Congress to his services and claims, ultimately induced him to 
forsake his country and join his friend Benedict Arnold in England. 

While others had been able to gather material succor for the Colonies, it 
remained for Franklin to win the moral support which should dignify and 
ensure the results of the struggle. He was content to leave the details of 
commercial transactions with Silas Deane and the agents assigned to the several 
ports where prizes were condemned and 
cargoes shipped, although it was to him 
that all these looked for funds when 
other sources failed, and his wisdom 
and diplomacy were continually drawn 
upon to smooth the way for these 
affairs. A few days after his arrival he 
was received, with Deane and Lee, by 
the Count de Vergennes, the minister 
for foreign affairs, to whom they pre¬ 
sented the main features of a treaty 
which it was desired to conclude with 
France. They asked the open assist¬ 
ance of the French navy to raise the 
blockade on American commerce, which 
in return was to be consigned to 
French ports. They were listened to 
with great respect by the minister, and 
assured of the protection of the king 
while established in France, but only 
vague promises could be obtained in 
regard to the treaty, which they were 

requested to draw up in due form Franklin's Music Stand. 

¥ott Jitlaj? ©me a Jttan an ©fficc Hut 
Von Cannot ©ibc Jtfim. Discretion. Poor Richard. 















iFranftlln’s ftiouse a t J9assj? 


and present to Monsieur Gerard, the chief secretary of the foreign office. 

For a few weeks Franklin resided with Mr. Deane, in the Rue de 
l’Universite, but as so central a location exposed him to many distractions he 
availed himself of the offer of a house at Passy, a suburb in the direction of 
Versailles, on the estate of Monsieur de Chaumont, a gentleman of much 
influence and a steadfast friend of America. Here he established himself, with 
a retinue of servants,— for, although simple in his own tastes, he must follow the 
manner usual for a public personage,— and this was his home during the nine 
years that he remained in France. He was on terms of most cordial intimacy 
with M. de Chaumont and his family, a fact which contributed materially to 
his welfare and contentment, while his host’s position in court circles was of 
benefit in the early days of his mission. 

The proposed treaty was delivered to M. Gerard, but its consideration 
was impracticable at that time, as France was unwilling to risk a war with Eng¬ 
land while the issue in America was so doubtful. Financial aid was, however, 
extended, and greatly facilitated the labors of the envoys. 

As the months passed, amid the difficulties of their multifarious affairs, 
only disheartening news of their country’s events and prospects reached them, 
and the announcement of Gen. Burgoyne’s departure from England with a large 
army, was the occasion of especial apprehension. Notwithstanding this, Frank¬ 
lin maintained a cheerful demeanor, although he felt keen anxiety, and insisted, 
in reply to all doubters, that America was strong and would yet triumph. 

Among the expedients devised at this time was that of sending advocates 
to Spain and the Netherlands, and Arthur Lee was dispatched to Madrid, but 
got no farther than Burgos, where he was met with the intelligence that the 
Government could not receive an American ambassador, although sympathizing 
with his cause, and with this and a promise of supplies he returned to Paris. 
He followed this immediately with a visit to Berlin, but received no aid from 
Frederick the Great, and returned finally to Paris without appealing to 
Holland. 


^leggett Kg artjat IBriJcctg Xottjtws, for 
Sfjall Nefocr Wt IHgapjiofutctL p. r. 









































































































J.8 <ZTJjc ILift ana 




SCVtHCCS Of 



Franklin found time to write and publish many articles bearing on the 
necessities and prospects of his country, as had been his custom while in 
England, but it needed positive successes by the American army to raise the 
cause with the governments and bankers. A slight measure of this was expe¬ 
rienced when Captain Hammond arrived as a special messenger with the news 
of the British defeat at Trenton. At this time, also, the Marquis de la Fayette 
departed secretly for America with a considerable quantity of supplies and, 
entered upon the career of usefulness which, with his charming personality, 
endeared him to all. 

These incidents were made the most of, but it was not until a swift mes¬ 
senger from Massachusetts, Mr. Jonathan Austin, arrived at Passy with the 
astounding news of the capture of Burgoyne’s army, that the clouds parted and the 
outlook of the envoys was illumined. From the depths of despair, which sug¬ 
gested even a proposition looking to terms with England, they rose instantly to 
heights of favor and success. Beaumarchais, who was on the verge of ruin, was 
at Passy, and in his unbounded joy drove so furiously to Paris that he was thrown 
from his carriage and severely injured. Within two days of the arrival of Mr. 
Austin, M. Gerard called on the envoys to convey the congratulations of the 
Count de Vergennes, his assurance of a large loan from Spain, and to request 
them to renew immediately their proposals for an alliance with France. In a 
short time this was done, and the dream of the envoys became an assured fact, 
awaiting only the outcome of certain affairs which should permit Spain to par¬ 
ticipate in it, to become an accomplished one. In anticipation of this, and at 
the request of the envoys, a strong squadron of French frigates was ordered to sail 
with a fleet of supply ships then awaiting convoy at Nantes. 

Arthur Lee had for months chafed under his personal lack of influence 
and imagined lack of consideration, and in the rapidly moving events of this 
period he appears as a continual critic of all that transpired or was accomplished, 
of no use in the affairs, and constantly intriguing to lessen the influence of his com¬ 
panions and increase his own with Con¬ 
gress. His jealousy of Silas Deane’s 
confidential relations with Beaumar¬ 
chais led him to discredit the latter as 
a principal, asserting that he was only 
a dispenser for the king, with the 
result that the first cargo of rice and 
indigo to arrive from America in one 
of his own ships was consigned to 
Franklin, Deane, and Lee, regardless 
of the distracted merchant, who finally 
convinced the others of his right to 
the cargo, which was delivered to him 
in spite of Lee’s protest. 

With the recognized prospect 
of a completion of the alliance, the 
British government caused inquiries 
to be made as to conditions for peace 
between England and America, to 
forestall the continental arrangement, 
but nothing suited to her desires was 
now possible, and on the sixth of 



Portrait of LOUIS XVI. 
Given by Him to Frank tin. 


t £ljat ean ©atoe jjatUuce, 
aw ®afoe Wit) at Tbt WLill. p. r. 



















t f)t Ercatj? of ilcacc 

February, 1778, the treaties, which were the first to recognize the United 
States of America, were signed at Versailles. This meant to America the 
practical success of the Revolution, and it was celebrated throughout the country 
with great rejoicing. What it meant to Franklin is well shown by the fact 
that he wore on this occasion the suit of black velvet which had served him 
but once before, when Wedderburn denounced him at the Hutchinson inquiry, 
and which he never wore again. 

Paul Jones, the intrepid commander who was to devastate English 
commerce, arrived in the Ranger soon after this, and his affairs were added 
to Franklin’s burden. He expected to receive a fine frigate which the 
envoys had been building in Holland, but which their necessities had 
obliged them to sell to the French Government; this was a great disappoint¬ 
ment to Captain Jones but he soon made the best of it and cruised in the 
Ranger around the west coast of England, taking prizes, burning shipping and 
spreading terror on all sides. In about two weeks he returned to Brest with 
the Drake, a British ship of twenty guns, captured after a hard fought battle. 
This victory was received with wonder and admiration, and Captain Jones 
became preeminently the hero of the hour, a glory perpetuated by his later 
exploit of capturing the powerful Serapis with his own ship, the Bon Homme 
Richard, practically a condemned hulk. His timely capture of the Drake was 
of great benefit to Franklin and the American cause, being evidence of a most 
unexpected prowess in a wholly improbable direction, and as such particularly 
gratifying to the new allies. Arthur Lee found in it an opportunity to assert 
his peevish authority, and caused Jones much inconvenience, which only the 
warm and helpful friendship of Franklin could dispel. 

With the formal signing of the treaties of commerce and alliance came 
changes in the status of two of their promotors, Mr. Deane being recalled by 
Congress, and M. Gerard going to America to represent France before that 
body. On the day that Mr. Deane left, Mr. John Adams of Boston arrived to 
take his place in the embassy. He was an honest man of unquestioned ability, 

Eratoe autr mum <£a« iSotfj autr Excuse 
WLtyn <&otoar*0 autr JFools Sfjeto No JHercjj* p. r. 


♦ 

















































































































jjljllatielpDfa murar®, jFounaclr Ds iFrattftlln 


but he was by temperament unsuited for a diplomat, and by his sympathies 
disqualified for service at the French court. His punctilious logic, forced upon 
the king, excited resentment that required all of Franklin’s soothing tact to 
allay, and caused him eventually to be entirely disregarded by the court. He 
accepted many of Arthur Lee’s prejudices and frequently joined with the latter 
in affairs antagonistic to Franklin, but in these he was prompted by his judg¬ 
ment, and he retained the respect of the senior envoy. 

Arthur Lee continued increasingly to oppose Franklin, and he derived 
much sympathy and assistance from Ralph Izard, who like Lee, was from the 
South, and who held the commission of envoy to the court of the Grand 
Duke of Tuscany but was debarred from Florence by this ruler and remained 
a member of the American colony in Paris. Their opportunities for mischief 
were soon lessened by the revocation by Congress of the commissions of the 
joint envoys in Paris, and the appointment of Franklin as sole plenipotentiary. 
Adams was not aggrieved, and immediately settled his affairs and returned to 
America, but Lee, by virtue of a commission to Spain, remained with Izard in 
Paris until both were recalled by Congress a few months later. 

Franklin was left to prosecute, undisturbed through quarrels, the work of 
his mission, but in the still greater financial responsibility put upon him he 
paid dearly for his preferment. All obligations from America and Europe 
which others could not pay, were sent to him in the form of drafts, which the 
credit of his country and the stability of former loans made it imperative to 
meet. These required enormous sums above his receipts from prizes and 
cargoes, but he was always able to secure a further loan from the French 
treasury, notwithstanding its already overtaxed generosity. As a final effort he 
was requested to solicit a loan of twenty-five million francs, in addition to a 
large supply of campaign stores. 

act Bcsplsc ail ®alwtnn»; Btrt JHap stttft 

to a iHuli snail, tut Wot to Uollsytr iHarUle. p. r. 


































































































































































He presented the appeal most ably, and was soon joined by Col. John 
Laurens, who came as a special envoy for this purpose. After some weeks of 
waiting, they were informed that the king could not, notwithstanding his good 
will to the United States, loan the sum asked for, but that he would grant 
them a free gift of six million francs, and furnish such supplies as were imme¬ 
diately needed. This gift proved the salvation of American finances, and 
brought the total of French advances to upward of twenty-six million francs, 
an enormous sum in those days, and an undoubted drain on the resources of 
that government. 

The culmination of the long struggle for independence, in Cornwallis’s 
crushing defeat at Yorktown, lessened the necessity for Franklin’s services 
abroad, and he felt that he should be allowed to transfer the burden to other 
shoulders, and return to his home for the remnant of his life. He wished to 
resign at the close of the year 1781, and appealed to Congress to relieve him, 
but instead he was appointed joint commissioner, with John Adams and John 
Jay, to negotiate for peace with England. 

To bring about this much desired condition was a long and laborious 
work, and one that taxed to the utmost Franklin’s sagacity and tact. England 
would readily have treated with America alone, but such an abandonment of 
their ally was abhorrent to the commissioners, while the prospect of craving the 
forbearance of her hereditary enemy was equally so to England. Gradually, 
through slight opportunities and unofficial channels, the leaders learned each 
other’s “mind,” and after nine months of informal proposition and argument, 
during a considerable part of which Franklin was incapacitated by serious 
illness, nine preliminary articles of peace were signed on the thirtieth of 
November, 1782, by Dr. Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Lau¬ 
rens, on the part of the United States, and by Richard Oswald, on the part of 
England. This treaty was a manifest victory for America, and lacked but 
Franklin’s cherished plan of the acquisition of Canada, to include all that was 
proposed by this country, while its demands in regard to Maine and the 
Newfoundland fisheries,— the two chief points in contest,— were unreservedly 
included. This was subject to ratification by the French government, and a 
little friction was occasioned by the fact of its having been signed before the 
approval of the ally had been obtained, but this was alleviated by Franklin, 
and another large loan secured for his impoverished country. 

On September third, 1783, the final treaty was signed by the American 
commissioners, and by Mr. David Hartly on the part of England. Its ratifica¬ 
tion by Congress and by King George III followed in due course, and then, 
the work of the commission being accomplished, Franklin once more requested 
the privilege of returning to America, but, for a year and a half, this request was 
unheeded. He spent this intervening period in pleasant intercourse and re¬ 
union with old friends who sought him at Passy, and he became, to a degree, 
reconciled with Governor Franklin, then in England. Thomas Jefferson 
arrived at Paris in August, 1784, and in March, 1785, when Dr. Franklin’s 
resignation was finally accepted by Congress, Jefferson was appointed in 
his place. He had anticipated this to the extent of settling his affairs, and he 
left Paris on the twelfth of July, after a cordial interchange of devoirs with the 
king and ministers. His last public act in France was the signing, a few days 
before his departure, of a most enlightened treaty with Prussia. Louis XVI, 
as a parting token, presented Franklin his portrait, in the form of a miniature 
surrounded by four hundred and eight diamonds. 


Sun Netoer MepentB of tfjr &ooDr ©e 33oes t 
l$ov Does I50er Detnautr a liecowjjcuse* p.r. 













SertHces of 



iFranfcltn’s CJratoc, 3)l)Ua5clj)tjia. 

Franklin’s infirmities were such that he could not ride in a carriage, and 
he traveled in one of the queen’s litters, borne by two mules, accompanied by 
his grandsons, William Temple Franklin, who had been his constant compan¬ 
ion and secretary, and Benjamin Franklin Bache, just returned from studying 
in Switzerland, as well as by M. de Chaumont and other friends who were loth 
to part from him. He took the journey to Havre by easy stages, and from 
there crossed to Southampton, to await the arrival of the ship which was to 
take them home. Here he w r as visited by many old friends, and the recon¬ 
ciliation with Governor Franklin was completed, the latter on this occasion 
transferring to his son William Temple, the title to his property in New Jersey. 
They sailed July twenty-eighth, and after a voyage of seven weeks, during 
which Dr. Franklin greatly improved in health, and which he occupied as usual 
with scientific researches, they reached Philadelphia, where he was received with 
great affection and enthusiasm. 

Even now he was not permitted to enjoy a rest from public life, but was 
soon elected President of the state of Pennsylvania, and continued in this office 
for three years, which was the limit set by the constitution. He was chosen a 
member of the convention which met in 1787 to draft a constitution for the 
United States, and was, as usual, a leader in the work. He saw the commence¬ 
ment of the imposing building for the Philadelphia library, an outcome of the 
Junto, and he took part in a protest against slaveholding, an institution repug¬ 
nant to many at that early day. 

In the fullness of his achievements and honors, loving and beloved, he 
passed away on the night of the seventeenth of April, 1790, after suffering for 
some days with a recurrence of a lung trouble that had threatened his life in 
youth. He was buried beside his wife, as he had desired to be, his funeral 
attended by almost the entire city, in reverent procession. His life was an 
element in the progress of the world, and indispensable in the establishment of 
the United States of America. 

.tFear Wot JSeatt); for ttje Sooner 2®le Die, 
ttje Hongrr Stjall E3c ©c immortal, p. r. 




































































































































THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 


Pattern of Table Flatware illustrated in the following pages, is, in its graceful simplicity, representative of 
the character of its illustrious namesake who, throughout a long life whose influences ranged from the 
humble conditions of his Puritan birthplace to the magnificence of the court of Louis XVI., main¬ 
tained his inherent and cultivated simplicity of dress and demeanor. 

It is a perfected arrangement of characteristic Colonial elements, especially distinguished by the 
pronounced embossment which reinforces the handles while contributing greatly to their beauty. 

This design is made in sterling silver, 925/1000 fine, and may be had in chest combinations of a few 
dozen or many hundred pieces. 


TOWLE MFG. COMPANY 


NEWBURYPORT 
Chicago, Illinois 
42 Madison Street 


Silversmiths 



•rruuftO 


MASSACHUSETTS 
New York City 
41 Union Square 


THE TOWLE MFG. COMPANY DOES NO RETAIL BUSINESS ANYWHERE 


































































Beniamin 






franliUn 


Xr\ 


Tea Spoon, P.M. 


Tea Spoon, Nos. 15 and 18 


Pap Spoon 



ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 


1000 


FINE 


Table Spoon, 
Nos. 39 and 45 


Ne’er take a wife till thou 
hast a house (and a fire) to put 
her in. Poor Richard. 


Dessert Spoon, 
Nos. 24, 28 and 32 


Design Patented 













































































Dessert Fork 


loffee Spoon 




Soup Spoon 


'Table Fork, 
Nos. $6 and 42 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Anoint a villain and he’ll 
stab you, stab him and he'll 
anoint you. P. R. 




STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


Bouillon Spoon 


I 000 


Design Patented 


Chocolate Spoon 






























































































benjamin 




JFvanft li# 




Sugar Spoon 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Ice Cream Spoon 


Is’t not enough plagues, wars 
and famine, rise to lash our 
crimes, but must our wives be 
wise ? Poor Richard . 


STCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


Preserve Spoon 


FINE 


I 000 


Design Patented 


Jelly Spoon 



























































is t u j a m i u 


JF r a n ft U ti 


Olive Spoon 


Egg Spoon 


Olive Fork 


Orange Spoon 


Berry Spoon 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


1000 


Design Patented 


He that cannot obey,cannot 
command. P. R. 











































































Reading makes a full man 
meditation a profound man 
discourse a clear man. P. R 


ACTUAL 


- - V3 &$■. 


STERLINC 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


i 000 


Design Patented 





















Lobster Fork 


Ideal Olive Spoon 
and Fork 


Horse Radish Spoon 








































































































Terrapin Fork 


Berry Fork 



To God we owe fear and 
love; to our neighbours jus¬ 
tice and charity; to our selves 
prudence and sobriety. P. P. 


Bread Fork 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 

- FINE 

1000 

Design Patented 


Oyster Cocktail 
Fork 





























































































Oyster Fork 


Individual 
Salad Fork, Small 


Be at war with your vices, 
at peace with your neighbours, 
and let every new-year find 
you a better man. J 3 . R. 


Individual Salad 
Fork, Large 


Individual 
Fish Fork 


1 / 


Sterling Silver 

925 

7^ FINE 

Design Patented 


ACTUAL SIZE 





























































































Wtniamin 



Design Patented 




































































64 Benf a twin 




\U/L 


2&L 


$ x a n It l i tt 




X)T)\> 


(V 


=i*-7. 


Chocolate Muddler 


Ramekin Fork 


Vegetable Fork 


Chow Chow 
Spoon 



teed Tea Spoon 



ACTUAL SIZE 



STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 


Design Patented 



























































































STCRLIMC 


Beniamin 


jF t a n ft l i n 


nlree Spoon 


6 5 


Jelly Knife 


Entree Fork 


He that drinks his cyder 
alone, let him catch his horse 
alone. P. P. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 


i ooo 


FINE 


Design Patented 



























































Asparagus Fork 


Ice Cream Fork 


Tim was so learned, that he 
could name a horse in nine 
languages. So ignorant, that 
he bought a cow to ride on. 

P. R. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 


Design Patented 










































































lit r u j a m t it 


jF t a n ft l f tt 


67 


Toast Server 


Sardine Fork 


If man could have half his 
wishes, he would double his 
troubles. P. R. 




ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 

7^ F,NE 

Design Patented 








Sardine Tongs. 





























































benjamin 


jfranftHn 



When a friend deals with a 
friend, let the bargain be clear 











































69 



If you want a neat wife, 
chuse her on a Saturday. 

P. R. 




Plattei Spoon 


















































benjamin 




f v a « It l i n 




Cheese Server 


Most people return small 
favours, acknowledge middling 
ones, and repay great ones 
with ingratitude. P. P. 


Waffle Server 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 


Design Patented 























































ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 


1000 


FINE 


Design Patented 

Patty Server 


Confection Spoon 


Tomato Servec 


Don’t go to the doctor with' 
every distemper, nor to the 
lawyer with every quarrel, nor 
to the pot for every thirst. 

P. P. 




























































Ice Spoon 


Tart words make no friends, 
a spoonful of honey will catch 
more flies than a gallon of 
vinegar. P. R. 


Pea Server 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 


i ooo 


FINE 


Design Patented 


































ACTUAL SIZE 




STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 


i ooo 


Design Patented 


You may delay, but time will 
not. Poor Richard. 


is t n | a ni t n 


JF r a n ft l i n 


Oyster Server 


Cucumber Server 


Macaroni Server 






















































IS t n f a in C u 


frauUUn 


Salad Spoon 


'Jelly Server 




ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 

- FINE 

I 000 

Design Patented 


Search others for their vir¬ 
tues, thyself for thy vices. 

P. P. 













































































ACTUAL SIZE 


Pudding Spoon 


Vegetable Spoon 


If worldly goods cannot save 
me from death, they ought not 
to hinder me of eternal life. 

P. R. 


benjamin 


iFranftlln 


Sterling Silver 

925 

7TTT FINE 
I 000 

Design Patented 












































Experience keeps a dear 
school, yet fools will learn in 
no other. P. R. 






ACTUAL SIZE 




























Ice Creeam Slicer, H.H. 
Plated Steel Blade 



What you would seem to be, 
be really. P. R . 



























































Cracker Scoop 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 

-- FINE 

1000 

Design Patented 


Intiatttin 


r a n ft It n 


Bonbon Scoop 


Almond Scoop 


Better is a little with content 
than much with contention. 

P. R. 





















































Bent a miu 


jF t a n ft U n 


Lettuce Spoon 


Croquette Server 


Lettuce Fork 


Sterling Silver 
925 . 

——T FINE 
1000 . 

Design Patented 


Let thy discontents be se¬ 
crets. P. P- 


































































8o 


Beniamin 





'M iD®A# 

w / iwQtvcj 
v v 5 


JF r a n ft It u 


=»y>r 


as: 



Design Patented 



















































ii t u i a m i u 



JF t an ft lin 


81 




Sugar Tongs 


Tete-a-tete Tongs 


Ice Tongs 


Asparagus Tongs 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


I 000 


Design Patented 





















































Asparagus Server 
Hollow Handle 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 

- FINE 

I OOO 

Design Patented 


None but the well-bred man 
knows how to confess a fault, 
or acknowledge himself in an 
error. Poor Richard. 


Nut Crack 












































JStnfamCn 




JF v a n ft if n 



Child’s Knife 


Child’s Fork 




Design Patented 






















































































Roast Holder, Small 


ACTUAL SIZE 



5TCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


925 ' 

i ooo 


FINE 


Design Patented 



Roast Holder, Large 




Game Fork 




/ 




' 






























































Lovers, travellers, and poets, 
will give money to be heard. 

P. R. 


85 





Meat Fork 


When you speak to a man 
look on his eyes; when he 
speaks to thee, look on his 
mouth. Poor Richard. 




Game Carver 















































































86 


33 1 n i a tn f ti 




jp t a wft If n 



Individual 
Fish Knife 


Butter Knife 
Bent 


Fruit Knife 


Duck Knife 










































































































Medium Knife 



Bird Carver 


Bird Fork 


Bird Steel 


Dessert Knife 


Tea Knife 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 


To lengthen thy life, lessen 
thy meals. P. R. 


I 000 


Dgsign Patented 



































































































jFt anfcHn 



MAHOGANY CHEST, No. 358 

Deck and four Drawers. Metal trimmings of Franklin design. 
Also made in Oak and Maple. 

Height, 18^ inches ; front, 30 inches ; front to back, 22 inches. 


2 Salt Spoons 
1 Mustard Spoon 
1 Horse Radish Spoon 
1 Sugar Spoon 
1 Jelly Spoon 
1 Berry Spoon 

1 Ideal Olive Spoon and Fork 
1 Lettuce Spoon 

1 2 Chocolate Spoons 
12 Orange Spoons 
12 Iced Tea Spoons 

12 Tea Spoons, P.M. 

12 Tea Spoons 
12 Table Spoons 

12 Tea Knives 
1 2 Fruit Knives 

12 Dessert Knives 


Accommodates 297 pieces. 
DECK 

1 Lettuce Fork 
1 Pickle Fork 
1 Sardine Fork 
1 Cold Meat Fork 
1 Butter Knife 
1 Chocolate Muddler 
1 Tete-a-tete Tongs 

DRAWER ONE 
1 2 Butter Spreaders 
1 2 Ice Cream Forks 

DRAWER TWO 

12 Dessert Spoons 
1 2 Dessert Forks 

DRAWER THREE 
1 2 Duck Knives 
12 Fish Knives 

DRAWER FOUR 
12 Medium Knives 


1 Sugar Tongs 
1 Salad Fork 
1 Salad Spoon 
1 Fish Knife 
1 Fish Fork 
1 Cream Ladle 
1 Gravy Ladle 
1 Soup Ladle 

1 2 Oyster Forks 
1 2 Individual Salad Forks 
12 Soup Spoons 

12 Table Forks 
1 2 Coffee Spoons 
1 2 Bouillon Spoons 

1 Roast Holder, Large 
3-Piece Bird Carving Set 

3—Piece Carving Set 
















































LA FAYETTE 






























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STATUE OF LA FAYETTE 

IN THE COURT OF THE LOUVRE, PARIS: BY PAUL W. BARTLETT 
Presented to France by the School Children of America, Juiy 4th, i900 

























































tyVCarquus de dlcu cJ'cuj&tte 








































ACCOUNT OF THE 
LIFE OF 

Marie Joseph FaulYves Roch Gilbert Dumotif.r 


Marquis de La Fayette 


MAJOR-OENERAI. IN THE SERVICE OF AMERICA AND 
NOBLEST PATRIOT OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 


With Illustrations of the 

Fa Fayette ‘Pattern of Sterling Silver 
Tableware 



/ 



























































BUST OF LA FAYETTE IN THE CAPITOL AT RICHMOND 

EXECUTED BY HOUDON FOR THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY 

A duplicate presented to France was prominent in the French Revolution 
Reproduced by permission 


Compiled and arranged by George P. Tilton, of the Towle 
Manufacturing Company, of material derived from the following 
publications, supplemented by local study of the scenes included: 

Memoirs and Correspondence of General La Fayette. 

Published by his Family 

The Marquis de La Fayette in the American Revolution. 

Charlemagne Tower, Jr. 

The History of the French Revolution. Louis Adolphe Thiers 
Memoirs of the Marquis de La Fayette. Frederic Butler, A.M. 
Field Book of the American Revolution. Benson J. Lossing 
Fund Publications of the Maryland Historical Society. 13-32 
Life of General La Fayette. Bayard Tuckerman 
The Household of the La Fayettes. Edith Sichel 
The French Revolution. Thomas Carlyle 
The Magazine of American History. 1881-1889 
The North American Review. 1824 

Copyright, 1907, by Towle Mfg. Co. 

Press of Springfield Printing and Binding Company. Springfield. Mass. 
























Amid the sophistry and prodigality of aristocratic France of the waning 
eighteenth century, La Fayette conceived an ideal of noble humanity, and at the 
threshold of his life consecrated his efforts and his resources to its realization. 
It has been given to few men of like impulses to exercise fuller opportunities or 
ampler means, and none have excelled him in fidelity and constancy. 

Louis XIV debauched France, Louis XV flaunted profligacy before its crushed 
but murmuring people, and Louis XVI paid the penalty of this heritage of extrav¬ 
agance and oppression, in an era of passion and violence unparalleled, as it was 
unexampled, in the world’s history. Such was the background and the field from 
which La Fayette emerged at the age of nineteen years to espouse the cause of 
American freedom, and to which, a few years later, he returned to become the 
chief actor in the momentous events leading to the French revolution. 

Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, 
was born September 6th, 1757, at the Chateau de Chavaniac in Auvergne, the 
home of his mother, to which she had retired while her husband, Michel Louis 
Christophe Roch Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, fought for France in 
the Seven Years’ War. The Marquis de La Fayette, Colonel of Grenadiers under 
Marshal de Broglie, was killed in the battle of Minden at the age of twenty-five, a 
few weeks after his son was born. The young marquis was reared at Chavaniac 
and educated in the accomplishments and graces that were the highest aim of the 
courtier of that period, but the heroic strain in his character early asserted itself, 
and he dwelt more on the hope of encountering and conquering the wild beasts of 
the neighborhood than of shining at Versailles. At the age of twelve he was sent 
to the College du Plessis at Paris and soon afterward was transferred to the Acad¬ 
emy at Versailles and made an officer in the Mousquetaires Noirs, which on review 
days took him from the schoolroom to the active command of men. 

Soon after he left home his mother died, and he became possessed of the 
large fortune of her family, with an income sufficient to determine a less serious 
character on a life of idleness and ease. He was, however, unattracted by the 
vicious pleasures then the fashion, and became the suitor of Mile. Adrienne de 
Noailles, daughter of the Due d’Ayen and granddaughter of the Due and Mare- 
chal de Noailles. The Noailles family was of the highest rank and character, and 
its history amid the vanities and corruption of this period and the trials of the 
Revolution endures as a monument of Christianity, love and gentleness. The Due 
d’Ayen was much in favor of the proposal, but the Duchess, who had made the 
training and instruction of her five daughters the chief object of her life, was op¬ 
posed to the match because of what seemed to her traits of impetuousness in the 
Marquis engendered by the imperfect surveillance of his guardians and the bane¬ 
ful possibilities of his great wealth. 

This divergence of desires caused a serious though temporary estrangement 
between the parents, which the Duke relieved by receding from his position, 
while, having discovered during the interval the fundamental virtues of La Fay¬ 
ette’s character, Madame d’Ayen withdrew her objections. Mile. Adrienne was 
not immediately informed of the proposed alliance, but she was brought much into 
the company of her suitor and fell sincerely in love with him, so that when she 

3 

















































































was told of the arrangement she was overjoyed, and the marriage soon took place. 
The young couple—aged respectively sixteen and fourteen—lived two years hap¬ 
pily with the d’Ayens, attending occasionally at the DuBarry-ruled court of Louis 
XV, and, after his unmourned death, participating in the festivities of Louis XVI 
and Marie Antoinette. The latter soon gathered about her the flower of the 
young nobility, and formed an exclusive set that excited the jealousy and antag¬ 
onism of the older courtiers, who prevailed upon the king to suppress their inno¬ 
vations. The La Fayettes were of this coterie, and the Marquis was devoted to 
the beautiful and virtuous Queen, who in turn adopted him as a favorite, a cir¬ 
cumstance which is noteworthy in view of her later attitude toward him when he 
was forced to stand between royalty and the infuriated people. 

The Marquis and his wife were now settled in a new home, gladdened by the 
birth of a daughter, and the Noailles family sought to establish their son-in-law 
at Court by procuring for him a place in the service of the Due de Provence, the 
King’s brother, afterward Louis XVIII; but La Fayette had no fancy for such a 
life, and took occasion at a masked ball, when he could appear impersonal, 
although he knew that he was recognized, to offend the Duke by liberal opinions 
and a contemptuous rejoinder, which destroyed any possibility of further asso¬ 
ciation. Soon after this he joined his regiment at Metz, an environment more 
suited to the growing taciturnity which marked the birth of his definite espousal 
of liberty, than the crowding gayeties of Versailles. 

It was at an officers’ dinner at Metz, given by the Comte de Broglie, com¬ 
mandant of the garrison, in honor of the visit of the Duke of Gloucester, in the 
fall of 1776 that La Fayette formed the resolution of volunteering in the cause of 
freedom in the new world across the Atlantic. The Duke had been banished by 
his brother, George III, for marrying the Countess Waldegrave, and being there¬ 
fore disposed to criticise the British policy, he related, with a degree of sympa¬ 
thy, news of the uprising in America, the evacuation of Boston by the King’s 
troops, and the declaration of independence. The officers who listened were 
imbued with the abstract philosophy of free government, at that time the fashion 
in the brilliant salons of Paris, and the general hope was expressed that the rebels 
would triumph. To them, as to their confreres at the capital, freedom was an 
idea called up chiefly by Jean Jacques Rousseau in his “Contrat Social,” a treat¬ 
ise on free government, which had gained the attention of philosophers of every 
station, and was arousing the humbler classes to an appreciation of their wrongs. 
To La Fayette it was the embodiment of the deep feelings which had stirred him 
from childhood, and had clouded his nature with a mystery inexplicable to his 
associates and even to himself. The knowledge of a struggling people, gained so 
casually, precipitated in his mind the nebulae of unrest, and he went to the Duke 
and privately declared his intention of going to America to fight in its cause. 

This resolution was firm, though so abruptly made, and he immediately took 
steps to accomplish it. He imparted it gradually to members of his family, all 
of whom strongly opposed what seemed a mere boyish adventure. Mme. de La 
Fayette was at first heartbroken at the thought of his absence when their second 
child would be born, and of the personal danger which he must incur, but realiz¬ 
ing the depth of his purpose, and being fully in sympathy with his noble aims, she 
repressed her sorrow for his absence and encouraged him in his purpose. Her 
mother, the Duchess d’Ayen, also, from her own high conception of duty to one’s 
principles, was easily brought to acquiesce, and his brother-in-law, the Vicomte 
de Noailles, and cousin, the Comte de Segur, were enthusiastic to accompany him. 
The one member of the family who was implacable in his opposition was the Due 
d’Ayen, but this, while a matter of regret to La Fayette, was not discouraging. 
He sought Silas Deane, the American representative at Paris, and negotiated with 
him through Baron de Kalb, a French officer of German origin, who had been 
employed to visit America to report on the political situation, and who also was 
now desirous of enlisting in its cause. The affair was progressing favorably and 
Deane had promised La Fayette a commission as major-general, when it was in¬ 
terrupted by an order from the King formally forbidding La Fayette to depart. 

France, as a penalty of defeat in its alliance with Austria in the Seven Years’ 
War against England, had forfeited to the latter its Canadian provinces, and 
secretly desired to strike a blow at its hereditary enemy, but was deterred from 
doing this openly by the depleted state of its finances, which, through the reck- 

4 








HUGER MANSION-PROSPECT HILL PLANTATION 

NEAR GEORGETOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA 


less extravagance of previous reigns had been brought to the verge of bank¬ 
ruptcy. The Ministry saw in the resistance of the American Colonists a hope of 
punishment for England, but as it was professedly neutral it could not counte¬ 
nance open aid of the cause. It did, however, provide the working field for the 
American agents and commissioners, promise them personal security, and secretly 
furnish a large sum of money, whifch, in the form of an indirect loan, went to 
purchase ships and supplies for the insurgents, as they were called. Lord Stor¬ 
mont, the English Ambassador at Paris, kept a very watchful eye on all these 
movements, and succeeded in thwarting many plans, as of course his specific pro¬ 
tests required recognition. It was because of this necessity of seemingly strict 
neutrality that La Fayette and his family, whose station was such that they were 
liable to be deemed representative of the Government, were peremptorily forbid¬ 
den to take part in the uprising, while no hindrance was placed on the movements 
of many other officers of the French army who volunteered. 

The result of the royal ban was to frustrate the plans of the Vicomte de 
Noailles and the Comte de Segur, who were less independently situated, and to 
impose greater difficulties and secrecy upon La Fayette. The Comte de Broglie, 
to whom, as an old and experienced friend of his family, La Fayette had early 
appealed for aid, had at first strongly endeavored to dissuade him with argu¬ 
ments as to the hopelessness of the American cause, adding:—“I have seen your 
uncle die in the wars of Italy, I have witnessed your father’s death at Minden, 
and I will not be accessory to the ruin of the last remaining branch of the family.” 
He however promised not to betray the plan and later he so far relented that La 
Fayette wrote:—“Amongst my discreet confidants, I owe much to M. du Boismar- 
tin, secretary of the Count de Broglie, and to the Count de Broglie himself, whose 
affectionate heart, when all his efforts to turn me from this project had proven in 
vain, entered into my views with even paternal tenderness.” 

As Benjamin Franklin had, at this time, arrived in Paris and entered upon 
the career of wonderful popularity that was destined to accomplish so much for 
his country’s cause, La Fayette appealed to him through M. Carmichael, an 
American merchant who was among the earliest to go to France for assistance, 
this precaution being necessary to maintain secrecy. The forces under Wash¬ 
ington had been recently defeated by Gen. Howe at Long Island, and the dis- 

5 



















































































couraging news was presented to La Fayette, but its only effect was to increase 
his ardor, and the commissioners henceforth devoted their efforts to getting him 
safely under way. He had previously arranged to visit England with his uncle, 
the Prince de Poix, ambassador to that country, and after spending some weeks 
there he returned surreptitiously to Paris, and a few days later, with Baron de 
Kalb and others seeking passage to America, set out for Bordeaux, where the ship 
“La Victoire” purchased by him through M. de Boismartin, was being repaired 
and fitted for the voyage. While waiting the completion of this work, which was 
unexpectedly delayed, he despatched messages to friends in Paris, and as he re¬ 
ceived information in reply that his plans and whereabouts were known and that 
an officer was about to start to intercept him, he suspended the repairs on his ship 
and immediately sailed for the neighboring Spanish port of Los Passaje. 

Lord Stormont had discovered his movements and appealed to the Due 
d’Ayen, at whose instigation a lettre de cachet had been despatched, of which, 
and the accompanying letters from his family, La Fayette has this to say:—“The 
orders of my sovereign were only able to overtake me at Los Passaje, a Spanish 
port, at which we stopped on our way. The letters from my family were ex¬ 
tremely violent, and those from the government were peremptory. I was for¬ 
bidden to proceed to the American continent under penalty of disobedience; I was 
enjoined to repair immediately to Marseilles, and await there further orders.” 
He complied with these commands to the extent of returning to Bordeaux, where 
after some days, having heard no more from the Comte de Maurepas,—as was 
natural considering the final orders received,—he wrote that he interpreted the 
prime minister’s silence as tacit consent, and started, with two of his companions, 
ostensibly for Marseilles, to satisfy the commandant that he was obeying the royal 
injunction; the party drew up, however, on reaching the open country, and La 
Fayette exchanged his more conspicuous costume for that of a courier, in which 
disguise he galloped ahead of the coach to order fresh horses. At the first oppor¬ 
tunity they turned off toward Bayonne, where they would have again the main road 
to Los Passaje. Here they halted, as it was feared that they would be intercepted 
by the duped bearers of the lettre de cachet, and for three hours La Fayette 
secluded himself in the loft of a stable while his companions, passing for ordinary 
travelers, reconnoitered at the inn. No danger being apparent they resumed 
their journey and met with no mishap until they reached the village of Saint Jean 
de Luz, where, in spite of his assumed character, La Fayette was recognized by 
the innkeeper’s daughter—who evidently had a keen eye for youth of the other 
sex—as a young man who had passed in a carriage a few days before. Her dis¬ 
cretion was equal to her acumen, however, as at a sign from the pretended cou¬ 
rier, she dissembled her surprise, and the horses being changed, the absconders 
continued unmolested. Soon afterward the over trustful officers rode hastily up 
to the inn and inquired of the girl if such a carriage had passed, but her sym¬ 
pathies were with the young stranger, and without falsehood she told them that 
she had seen the carriage but that the person described was not in it. The pur¬ 
suers returned and this young woman, all unconscious of the importance of the 
act, proved the pivot on which hung, for this expedition at least, the fortunes of 
La Fayette in America. On the twentieth of April, 1777, “La Victoire” set sail 
from Los Passaje, and with more good luck than her condition or armament war¬ 
ranted, reached the coast of South Carolina after a two months’ voyage, in spite 
of storms and hostile ships. After recovery from the seasickness which affected 
him severely, La Fayette spent much of his time on the tedious passage in writ¬ 
ing letters of tender regret to his wife—whose situation and condition touched 
him deeply—at the necessity of parting from her so ungallantly, expressing his 
unbounded love and solicitude, which was only inferior to the duty he felt in 
behalf of a struggling people; and also in the study of the English language and 
military tactics. The ship had cleared for the West Indies and the captain, hav¬ 
ing secretly embarked a considerable venture of his own, was determined to go 
there and was only dissuaded by a promise of indemnity if the vessel was seized, 
and a threat to put the mate in charge if he further insisted. When near the 
coast they were intercepted by a cruiser and La Fayette resolved to blow up the 
vessel rather than surrender, but their alarm was needless as the other proved to 
be an American privateer and left them unmolested. The party were anxious to 
land as soon as possible, so the ship was headed directly for the shore and 

6 







anchored,. as it proved, near North Island, at the entrance of Winyah Bay. 
Although it was late in the evening a small boat was launched and they proceeded 
up the bay until a welcome light indicated a friendly roof. Its nearer aspect 
was doubtful, however, as dogs set up violent barking and the inmates, fearing 
a raid from a British war ship, were slow to receive the travelers. After a parley 
between a voice from an upper window and Baron de Kalb, who spoke a little 
English, the door was thrown open and La Fayette and his companions were cor¬ 
dially welcomed to the home of Major Benjamin Huger of the Continental Army. 

The goal of his absorbing ambition was now at hand, and no better descrip¬ 
tion of his enthusiasm and gratification can be given than these extracts from his 
first letters to his wife:—“I have arrived, my dearest love, in perfect health at 
the house of an American officer; and, by the most fortunate chance in the world, 
a French vessel is on the point of sailing; conceive how happy I am. I am going 
this evening to Charleston, from whence I will write to you. * * * * * 

I shall now speak to you, my love, about the country and its inhabitants, who are 
as agreeable as my enthusiasm had led me to imagine. Simplicity of manner, 
kindness of heart, love of country and of liberty, a delightful state of equality are 
met with universally. The richest and the poorest man are completely on a level; 
and although there are some immense fortunes in this country, I may challenge 
any one to point out the slightest difference in their respective manner towards 
each other. I first saw and judged of a country life at Major Huger’s house. I 
am at present in the city, where everything somewhat resembles the English cus¬ 
toms, except that you find more simplicity here than you would in England. 
Charleston is one of the best built, handsomest, and most agreeable cities that I 
have ever seen. The American women are very pretty, and have great simplicity 
of character; and the extreme neatness of their appearance is truly delightful; 
cleanliness is everywhere even more studiously attended to here than in Eng¬ 
land. What gives me most pleasure is to see how completely the citizens are all 
brethren of one family. In America there are none poor and none even that can 
be called peasants. Each citizen has some property, and all citizens have the 
same rights as the richest individual, or landed proprietor in the country. The 
inns are very different from those of Europe; the host and hostess sit at table 
with you and do the honors of a comfortable meal; and when you depart you pay 
without being obliged to beat them down. If you dislike going to inns you may 
always find country houses in which you will be received, as a good American, 
with the same attention that you might expect in a friend’s house in Europe. 
* * * * From the agreeable life I lead in this country, from the sympathy 

which makes me feel as much at ease with the inhabitants as if I had known 
them for twenty years, the similarity between their manner of thinking and my 
own, my love for glory and for liberty, you may imagine that I am very happy: 
but you are not with me, my dearest love; * * * * Embrace most tenderly 

my Henriette: may I add, embrace our children? The father of these poor chil¬ 
dren is a wanderer, but he is, nevertheless, a good husband also, for he loves 
his wife most tenderly. * * * * Adieu, then, my dearest love; * * * 
The night is far advanced, the heat intense, and I am devoured by mosquitoes; 
but the best countries, as you perceive, have their inconveniences.” 

La Fayette and his companions had nine hundred miles to travel to present 
themselves before Congress at Philadelphia and they set out in good style with 
horses and carriages that he purchased, but various mishaps reduced them to 

the necessity of mounting the horses, and he wrote 
Madame de La Fayette that he expected to “finally 
arrive on foot.” They were much impressed by the 
virgin grandeur of the scenery, which was in notable 
contrast to the poor farms of their own country, and 
traveling this way for a month, which included a 
visit to the Governor of North Carolina and short 
stops at Petersburg and Annapolis, they arrived at 
their journey’s end. 

.... - Congress was out of patience with the mnumer- 

la fayette snuff box able foreign officers who had come over with prom- 

Metropoiitan Art Museum ises and credentials from Silas Deane, and high ex- 

Reproduced by permission pectations of preferment in the army, and at first no 

7 

















attention was paid to the letters presented by La Fayette. The great majority of 
the applicants were adventurers or worse, and some of those that had been com¬ 
missioned had given unending trouble. They hardly opened La Fayette’s papers, 
and the next day when he came to learn the result, he was met by the chairman of 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs to whom he had intrusted his case, with very 
discouraging tidings. Suspecting the true state of affairs, he showed no. resent¬ 
ment but wrote this note, which he requested Mr. Lovell, his intermediary, to 
read before Congress:—“After the sacrifices I have made, I have the right to ex¬ 
act two favours; one is to serve at my own expense,—the other is, to serve at first 
as volunteer.” This astonishing humility and public spirit attracted the desired 
attention and his dispatches from the envoys were read, with the result that in.a 
very flattering resolution he was given a commission as major-general. Franklin 
had written in a most appreciative strain of the young man’s character, influence 
and connections, and urged his appointment, at the same time prudently delaying 
a letter which the envoys were directed to write, by the court of France, request¬ 
ing that he should not be employed. After his own appointment he used his influ¬ 
ence in favor of de Kalb, who was granted a similar commission retrospectively 
dated, like La Fayette’s, July thirty-first; of the remainder of his party some 
were later accepted, and he relieved the disappointment of the others by gifts 
from his own purse. 

The English under General Howe and Admiral Howe having appeared be¬ 
fore the Delaware Capes, Washington came to Philadelphia early in August and 
at a dinner tendered the Commander-in-chief La Fayette was presented to him. 
“Although he was surrounded by officers and citizens, it was impossible to mis¬ 
take for a moment his majestic figure and deportment. * * * * Invited by 

the General to establish himself in his house, he looked upon it from that moment 
as his own; with this perfect ease and simplicity was formed the tie that united 
two friends, whose confidence and attachment were to be cemented by the strong¬ 
est interests of humanity.” (La Fayette’s Memoirs.) This immortal friendship 
was, in the trying years that followed, a source of great solace to both; the one 
finding a sincere and self-forgetting friend, loyal under every condition, and the 
other a hero and guardian whom he worshiped as a soldier and as a man. 

La Fayette’s commission carried no assignment and Washington offered him 
a place on his staff, which was joyfully accepted. Together they visited the for¬ 
tifications and the camp at Annapolis where the pitiful aspect of the poorly 
equipped and half disciplined troops elicited a half apologetic observation from 
the General on their contrast to the army to which his companion was attached 
in France, but La Fayette’s only reply, “I am here to learn, and not to teach,” 
was indicative of his earnest and modest attitude and at once endeared him to his 
commander. La Fayette noted the motley and tattered uniforms, of hunting shirt 
and gray linen coat at the best, and the awkward and unscientific manoeuvres, but 
he also saw and appreciated the intense patriotism of the men and zealous enthu¬ 
siasm of the officers. He soon found himself a participant in active operations, 
as the British, although appearing to withdraw after menacing the Delaware, 
soon returned by the way of Chesapeake Bay and Elkton. 

The forces opposed each other gallantly at Chadd’s Ford and Brandywine 
Creek, and after a hard and well planned contest lasting all day and entailing 
severe losses, the enemy was victorious and the Americans fell back on Chester 
and later Philadelphia, which, as Washington was unsuccessful in an attempt 
to again engage Howe, they abandoned, in a few days, to protect their stores 
at Reading. The British marched on Philadelphia and occupied it, surpris¬ 
ing and routing General Wayne, who had been left with fifteen hundred 
men to check their advance, Congress fleeing to Lancaster and York. At the 
battle of Chadd’s Ford, La Fayette, seeking the thickest action, secured permis¬ 
sion to join the right wing under General Sullivan and in a spirited action dur¬ 
ing which Lord Cornwallis concentrated his attack upon the division to which he 
had attached himself, he was wounded by a ball in the leg and in the retreat would 
have been unable to mount his horse but for the assistance of Captain Gimat, his 
aide-de-camp and friend. He undertook to join Washington, who had arrived with 
fresh troops, but became so weak from loss of blood that he was obliged to stop 
and have his leg bandaged, and narrowly escaped capture. He reached Philadel¬ 
phia by water and had his wound dressed, after which he was taken to the peace- 

8 












ful Moravian settlement at Beth¬ 
lehem, to recuperate. Although 
he treated the matter very 
lightly in letters to his wife, he 
was confined to his bed for six 
weeks during which he suffered 
severely. The Moravian Brothers 
cared for him with great kind¬ 
ness and endeavored to turn his 
mind from warlike thoughts, but 
he spent much of his time in 
writing—the only employment 
possible—plans for auxiliary 
campaigns which were never 
carried out, although it was sub¬ 
sequently learned that they were 
thought well of by the French 
authorities to whom they were 
addressed. 

Washington in the mean¬ 
time had returned from Reading 
and engaged the British at Ger¬ 
mantown, but the advantage 
continued against him and after 
the loss of Forts Mifflin and 
Mercer on the Delaware river, 
which held out long and bravely against the English ships and sunk a good part 
of the fleet, he gave up the hope of retaking Philadelphia and withdrew to White- 
marsh, from whence he soon went into the memorable winter quarters at Valley 
Forge. 

La Fayette’s impatience to be again at the front caused him to leave Bethle¬ 
hem as soon as he could walk about, and long before his wound had healed or could 
be covered by a boot. In this condition he joined Washington at Whitemarsh, and, 
seeing an opportunity for active service in the movements to check Cornwallis in 
New Jersey, he joined General Greene as volunteer and at Mount Holly was put 
in charge of a small detachment to reconnoitre. He discovered Cornwallis about 
to cross the river at Gloucester, and taking his men to a commanding but dan¬ 
gerous position at Stony Point he immediately engaged a superior force of Hes¬ 
sians and drove them steadily back with severe losses, in spite of reinforcements 
led by Cornwallis himself. He had but three hundred men and many of them 
had marched all day without food, but in his report to General Washington he 
speaks most highly of their spirit and ability, while the men were equally appre¬ 
ciative of the daring and skill of their commander on this occasion. La Fayette 
admitted that his escape from annihilation was due largely to errors of judg¬ 
ment on the part of the enemy, who overestimated the strength of the attacking 
force, but as it was successful the affair added much to his reputation and 
popularity. 

This action was unimportant, as, on arriving, Greene decided to abandon the 
position and Cornwallis crossed the river the next day; but the real fighting ability 
shown by one who, many thought, held only a nominal commission as a compli¬ 
ment to his enthusiasm and connections, aroused a general desire to see him in 
charge of an independent command, and acting on Washington’s recommendation 
to this effect, Congress resolved that he be placed at the head of a division, on 
which Washington appointed him to the Virginia Militia to succeed General 
Stephen. Howe gained no advantage from Cornwallis’ passage of the Delaware, 
as, after joining the latter, he made no advance until Greene had effected a junc¬ 
tion with Washington and then his tentative movements indicated a hesitance to 
attack, which was confirmed soon afterward by his withdrawal to Philadelphia, 
in which comfortable city he settled down for the winter. 

The capture of Burgoyne’s splendid army in the North raised the courage and 
the credit of the country, and the news of it, borne across the ocean, determined 
the French alliance, without which the triumph of the American cause would 

9 



HOUSE AT CHADD’S FORD 

LA FAYETTE’S HEADQUARTERS 





































































WASHINGTON’S HEADQUARTERS, VALLEY FORGE 


VIEW FROM THE REAR 

have been impossible. The self-interest upon which the Government must justify 
its success was embodied in sincere kindness, and the French people, captivated 
by Franklin, were unbounded in their sympathy, while the large loans granted by 
the Ministry when they hardly knew where to turn for Court expenses, were the 
very sinews of war to the patriots. 

At Valley Forge, Washington’s wretched army lay starving and freezing in 
pitiful contrast to the British soldiers, who, only twenty-two miles away, reveled 
in luxury. La Fayette remained with his troops and shared their privations, 
which he keenly deplored, though in spite of these their patriotism was little abated. 
While Washington was here suffering poignantly with his men, a clique of offi¬ 
cers led by Conway, an Irishman who had been in the French service, sought to 
undermine his position as head of the forces and supersede him by Gates, who 
had been made president of the Board of War as a reward for his part in the cap¬ 
ture of Burgoyne, the report of which, ignoring Washington, he had transmitted 
directly to Congress. The country and Congress were divided by parties holding 
diverse opinions on the conduct of the war, and this situation secured a backing for 
the conspirators which promised success to their plan. Appreciating La Fayette’s 
popularity and his influence abroad they saw the necessity of depriving Washing¬ 
ton of his company and counsel, and they contrived an elaborate plan to seduce 
him from his allegiance to his beloved friend. Congress authorized the formation 
of an “Army of the North” for the purpose of destroying the British shipping on 
Lake Champlain and subsequently attacking Montreal. It was provided in the act 
that the expedition, having twenty-five hundred men and ample funds and equip¬ 
ment, should be commanded by La Fayette with Generals Conway and Stark 
for lieutenants, and he received information to this effect through Washington, 
with instructions to repair at once to Albany and there await further orders. 

Washington, although heavy hearted, advised him to accept the position, but 
La Fayette, on realizing that its direct responsibility to the Board of War carried 
an affront to the Commander-in-chief, determined to refuse it, and only modified 
his decision at the earnest solicitation of his friend, who declared that as the place 
had been created he preferred that he should accept it. La Fayette, however, de¬ 
ferred acquiescence until he had visited headquarters at York and secured fur¬ 
ther concessions of funds and trustworthy officers; and while there at a dinner 

10 













































of the conspirators he created consternation by obliging them to drink a toast to 
the health of the Commander-in-chief whose ruin they were plotting. 

Finding that the scheme was a failure in respect to its main purpose, the Board 
of War lost interest in it, and when, after a toilsome and hazardous journey, La 
Fayette arrived at Albany he found less than half the promised number of men, 
and entirely inadequate preparation. Conway immediately declared the project 
impossible, but La Fayette, mindful of the responsibility of his position and the 
benefit which would result from success, only decided to abandon it when, after 
waiting in vain for necessary supplies, the lateness of the season precluded the 
passage of Lake Champlain on the ice. His presence at Albany was not wholly 
without fruits, however, as he used such money as he received in relieving the dis¬ 
tress of his men and allaying their discontent by partial payment of overdue 
wages, and also spent much of his time in strengthening neighboring fortifications 
and endeavoring to offset British influence among the Indians who—with the ex¬ 
ception of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras—while remaining favorable to their more 
munificent suitors, treated him with great respect and gave him the name of 
“Kayoula,” formerly borne by a lamented chief, by which he was afterward 
known among them. 

Soon after La Fayette’s departure from Valley Forge, Washington became 
possessed of incriminating evidence against eminent members of the Cabal, and 
in the resulting discussion this reached the ears of Congress and created such 
widespread indignation that the malcontents hastened to repudiate their connec¬ 
tion with the intrigue. The possibility of such treason was, however, too seri¬ 
ous a menace to pass unnoticed, and Congress made use of the occasion to 
prescribe for the officers of the army a new oath of allegiance which La Fayette, on 
returning from his conference with the Indians, was called upon to administer. 
When, in spite of his regrets for the failure of his expedition, which he feared 
would humiliate him before the world notwithstanding his obvious blamelessness, 
he had finally abandoned it and prepared to return, Congress, persuaded of its 
futility, recalled him to the South in a flattering dispatch calculated to exonerate 
him from the stigma. He rejoined Washington and was employed in further 
administering the new oath when the news was received that France had acknowl¬ 
edged the independence of the United States and concluded a treaty of commerce 
and alliance. The whole country rejoiced at the consummation of this great tri¬ 
umph of Franklin’s diplomacy, and at Valley Forge, where the hardships of the 
cause had been most cruelly experienced, the joy was especially marked. La 
Fayette’s happiness at the realization so long hoped for was deeply clouded by 
intelligence of the death of his beloved daughter Henriette, brought by the same 
vessel that bore the treaty, and thus, with his thoughts far across the ocean with 
his stricken wife, he was obliged to take part in the celebration of the nation’s 
thankfulness amid salvos of artillery and congratulatory toasts. 

The English government had made advances toward peace which had been 
spurned by Congress, because they looked only to a cessation of hostilities and 
promised no recognition of independence, but now that France had virtually 
declared war, it was thought necessary to strengthen their holdings in this coun¬ 
try. Sir William Howe, who had remained comfortably in Philadelphia all win¬ 
ter, was recalled and Sir Henry Clinton was sent to take his command. Amid 
the preparations for the elaborate and ridiculous “Mischianza” which was to mark 
Lord Howe’s withdrawal, Washington, who had reason to think that the British 
would leave Philadelphia, sent La Fayette with two thousand chosen men across 
the Schuylkill to watch the enemy. 

Since the suppression of the Conway Cabal, the Board of War had been 
superseded by General Greene who as quartermaster general had placed the army 
on an excellent working footing; it had also been increased by new recruits and 
most assiduously drilled by Baron Steuben, an accomplished Prussian officer, 
who arrived early in the spring. It was therefore with high hopes that Wash¬ 
ington looked forward to intercepting Clinton when he should undertake to join 
his army at New York. A council of war ordered by Congress had decided, how¬ 
ever, on a defensive campaign, and La Fayette was cautioned to exercise great care 
in the preservation of his command. He left Valley Forge on the eighteenth of 
May, and, crossing the river at Swede’s Ford, took up a position at Barren Hill, 
twelve miles from the main army and effectively commanding the roads from Phila- 

11 


















delphia, which was about equally 
distant. His camp was upon 
high ground abruptly sloping to 
the Schuylkill in the rear, and he 
placed a body of Pennsylvania 
militia under General Patten to 
the front and left to guard 
against surprise from the direc¬ 
tion of Whitemarsh, while 
pickets were advanced on either 
side to warn him of approach 
in these directions. In the im¬ 
mediate vicinity a stone church 
and several substantial stone 
houses offered protection in the 
event of an engagement, and in 
this situation, admirably chosen, 
he remained until the morning 
of the twentieth, seeking the in¬ 
formation for which he was 
detached. In the meantime the 
British, in the midst of their 
revelry, learned of his prox¬ 
imity, and lightly estimating his 
force and skill, sent out a de¬ 
tachment to bring him in as a 
climax to their festivities, Lord 
Howe in his confidence inviting 
a party to meet the marquis at 
his house the next evening, while 
Admiral Howe prepared a frig¬ 
ate to receive him. On the morning of the twentieth, having ample troops, five 
thousand were sent around to cut off his retreat at Swede’s Ford, and two divi¬ 
sions of two thousand each were sent against him from different directions at the 
front, thus apparently surrounding him and rendering his escape impossible. 

La Fayette was giving instructions to a young woman, who, on the pretext 
of visiting relatives, was to go to Philadelphia in his interest, when information 
was brought of red-coats on the Whitemarsh road, but as a portion of the militia 
under General Patten had uniforms of that color this excited no alarm. Never¬ 
theless he immediately sent scouts to learn the truth of this inference, and they 
soon reported that a column of the enemy was advancing on his left and that 
another body was passing up the road to Swede’s Ford. Almost at the same 
moment it was learned that a third division was approaching on the Ridge road, 
the direct route from Philadelphia by the bank of the Schuylkill, on which the 
camp was located. The situation was alarming and created consternation among 
the troops, to whom it appeared that every avenue of escape was cut off—as 
General Clinton and Lord Howe certainly intended they should be. La Fayette, 
while fully appreciating the seriousness of his position, was in no wise distracted, 
and his immediate and decisive orders inspired a return of confidence in his men. 
This predicament was entirely due to some inexplicable remissness of his outly¬ 
ing militia, but there yet remained an avenue of escape if the British on the 
Swede’s Ford and Whitemarsh roads could be delayed, and La Fayette unhesi¬ 
tatingly availed himself of this possibility. 

Somewhat parallel to the Swede’s Ford road and nearer to Barren Hill was 
one leading to Matzon’s Ford, less known and used. Soon after leaving the hill 
this entered a ravine and was still further concealed by woods in the direction of 
the enemy. Just before reaching the ford it was intersected by a connecting 
road from the main thoroughfare, and the success of La Fayette’s plan lay in 
passing this point before his debouchment should be discovered, as it was some¬ 
what nearer the British lines than his own. To accomplish this he quickly 
posted a defensive party behind the stone wall of the churchyard to guard against 
attack by General Grey, who occupied the road from Germantown; he then 

12 



ST. PETER’S CHURCH, BARREN HILL, PA. 


A POINT OF VANTAGE FOR LA FAYETTE’S ARMY 



























despatched a number of false 
heads of columns to appear at 
intervals through the woods to 
the westward, to convey to Gen¬ 
eral Grant, who menaced Mat- 
zon’s Ford, the impression that 
a line of columns was emerging 
to engage him. This ruse was 
successful and was the salvation 
of Lafayette, who, while Gen¬ 
eral Grant was manoeuvering 
before the imagined army, was 
rapidly sending his troops, un¬ 
der General Poor, down the road 
to the ford, and when these had 
safely passed he brought up in 
the rear with the skirmishers, 
reaching the west bank of the 
Schuylkill in safety just as the 
British, who tardily discovered 
the deception, arrived at the 
river. At Barren Hill, the divi¬ 
sions under Generals Grey 
and Clinton met in confusion 
where they expected to find 
their quarry. Their consterna¬ 
tion was enlivened by recrimi¬ 
nations between the command¬ 
ers, and in a very crestfallen 

state they returned to Philadel- erected by the historical society of mont- 
phia, being unwilling to attack gomery county, pa., to mark the site of 
La Fayette in his now ascer- la fayette-s encampment 

tained position. A ludicrous incident occurred when a body of dragoons, ad¬ 
vancing on the Ridge road, came upon a company of Iroquois who were a part of 
Captain McLean’s command, and who, terrified by the unfamiliar cavalry, rose 
with a war whoop from the ground where they were lying prostrate in ambush. 
The dragoons were even more terrified than the Indians, whom they believed to be 
painted devils, and they precipitately retreated down the road to Philadelphia. 

.La Fayette remained on the west bank of the Schuylkill over night awaiting 
possible attack, and on the morning of the twenty-first, having learned that the 
British had withdrawn, he recrossed to his former position on Barren Hill, and 
later returned by Swede’s Ford to Valley Forge, to the great relief of General 
Washington, who had heard alarm guns which were fired the day before, and 
feared that the detachment had met with disaster. He warmly commended La 
Fayette for his judgment and skill in extricating his command from a seemingly 
hopeless position, in which defeat would have crippled the American army and 
forever blighted the young commander’s career. 

Anticipating that Clinton would soon evacuate Philadelphia, Washington 
called a council of war to determine the course to be taken. At this council 
General Lee, an English officer who had joined the Continental army, and who 
was second in command, vigorously opposed an encounter with the British and 
advocated withdrawal to White Plains to await developments. He carried many 
with him in this proposal although La Fayette spoke vigorously against it, and 
Washington, being desirous of attacking, requested all the officers to put their 
opinions in writing, but before this could be done it was learned that the British 
were on the march, and shortly afterward that they were across the Delaware 
on their way to New York. Washington sent orders to the New Jersey militia 
to impede the enemy in every way, and immediately despatched two divisions of 
the army under Generals Lee and Wayne respectively, to Coryell’s Ferry on the 
Delaware, a direction parallel with that the British had taken, while the next day, 
the 19th of June, he followed with the main body under General La Fayette, Baron 
de Kalb, and Lord Stirling. Soon after passing the Delaware another council 

13 



MONUMENT AT BARREN HILL 
























SUNNYSiDE TAVERN, BARREN HILL 


IN WHICH LA FAYETTE SLEPT. NOW OCCUPIED AS A DWELLING 

was called, at which General Lee again argued against an encounter with the 
British, avowing that there was no hope of victory over the highly trained 
enemy, but Washington was determined not to permit them to pass unhindered, 
and with the support of many of the officers, including La Fayette, who spoke 
strongly in favor of an attack, he detached strong parties to harass their flanks 
and rear. These were increased until, having about five thousand men in this 
service, he decided to combine the commands under a major-general, who by 
right of seniority would have been Lee, but this officer being opposed to the plan, 
declined it and with his permission it was given to La Fayette. The latter started 
enthusiastically upon the mission and was close upon the British, who were then 
resting at Monmouth, when General Lee changed his attitude toward the opera¬ 
tions and, declaring that his honor was at stake, begged Washington to place 
him in command, at the same time acquainting La Fayette with his request and 
working upon his generosity to resign in his favor, which La Fayette immedi¬ 
ately, though reluctantly, did. Washington’s purpose was to bring his army 
within available distance in case the detachment was endangered or a good 
opportunity for a general engagement arose. The division was now within a 
few miles of the enemy, and realizing that if they passed Monmouth the British 
would stand a good chance of reaching the coast, Washington resolved to 
attack them as soon as they should move, and directed General Lee to hold his 
troops in readiness for this. He also, in the presence of a company of officers, 
requested the latter to call a council of his generals later in the day to decide 
upon a plan of action. 

From this time General Lee’s acts must be regarded as those of a traitor to 
the cause he was identified with. He held no council with his officers, who there¬ 
fore had no common understanding of the projected movement. He remained 
inactive while his generals were carrying out individual manoeuvres, and he 
refused repeated calls for assistance, and finally recalled and ordered them to 
retreat in the face of evident advantage, until consternation prevailed, and his 
troops were in full retreat without knowing why. La Fayette, being superseded 
in command, had gone into action as a volunteer and was requested by General 
Lee to direct the advance detachments under General Wayne and General Scott, 
but while successfully executing his instructions, his command was ordered else¬ 
where and, in spite of repeated appeals for support, soon found itself deserted 
in the general retreat which it was obliged to join. General Washington was 
apprised of the situation by meeting on the road by which his army was hur- 

14 


































riedly advancing, the first stragglers from the flying troops. Riding hastily for¬ 
ward he came up with the main body accompanied by General Lee, and in scarcely 
concealed wrath he demanded of the commander an explanation of his action. 
The latter in his confusion was at a loss for a reply, and receiving no satisfac¬ 
tion on repeating his inquiry, the Commander-in-chief left Lee and rode back 
to check the retreat. He soon learned that the British, taking advantage of the 
flight, were rapidly advancing, and he seized upon a favorable position in a nar¬ 
row defile to make a stand and receive the enemy’s cavalry. The latter advanced 
to within short range when they were met with a volley which shattered their 
formation and obliged them to fall back with heavy loss; they were followed by 
grenadiers who were likewise received and repulsed. In the meantime General 
Washington brought up his own troops which, with others of Lee’s command, 
were advantageously disposed on rising ground in the rear, the center line under 
La Fayette, and effectually checked the British advance. A severe engagement 
ensued, and when darkness fell both sides maintained their positions, the British 
protected from flank attacks by woods and morasses on either side. Notwith¬ 
standing these difficulties, General Washington had decided to press an attack, but 
the failing light obliged him to postpone it until morning, with the result that 
dawn showed a deserted field, the enemy having departed noiselessly in the night, 
leaving many of their wounded, and gained an advance which rendered pursuit 
hopeless. The outcome was equivalent to a victory by the Americans which, had 
it not been for General Lee’s incompetence or treachery, would have amounted to 
the annihilation of Clinton’s army. General Lee was soon afterward tried by 
court-martial, and being found guilty on several charges, was sentenced to be 
suspended from all command in the army for a period of twelve months, this sen¬ 
tence being later approved by Congress. Before the expiration of this he was 
discharged from the service, the unanimous testimony of his brother officers 
leaving little doubt that his deliberate purpose on this occasion was to subvert 
the plans of his commander and facilitate the escape of the British. 

While the battle of Monmouth was being fought to cripple the British in 
their passage to New York, a powerful fleet, the first of the French alliance, was 
nearing Delaware Bay in the hope of blockading and capturing Lord Howe’s 
ships and cooperating with the American army against the garrison at Philadel¬ 
phia. This fleet, consisting of twelve ships of the line and fourteen frigates, with 
one thousand men for shore service in addition to their ample crews, was under 
the command of the Comte d’Estaing, and brought as a passenger, among others 
identified with the cause of independence, M. Gerard, the first minister of France 
to the new republic. It sailed from Toulon on the thirteenth of April, 1778, but 
head winds and storms beset the ships from the start, and it was eighty-five days 
before they anchored, on the seventh of July, inside the capes of the Delaware. 
By this time the British were safely in New York, and Washington, with his 
army, was nearing the Hudson, which he planned to cross and establish himself 
near the enemy. Finding no use for his fleet at that point, the Comte d’Estaing 
landed his passengers and despatched messengers to Congress and to General 
Washington, announcing his arrival, and then put to sea again with the purpose 
of following Lord Howe to New York. He arrived at Sandy Hook four days 
later, but to his great disappointment it was found, after waiting more than a 
week for fresh water and supplies, of which his men were in sore need, that 
his larger ships drew too much water to cross the bar at the entrance to New 
York harbor, and he was compelled to again put to sea, leaving the British, whom 
he so eagerly sought, safe in the inner harbor while he headed for Newport, 
Rhode Island, to cooperate with the troops under General Sullivan and others 
that Washington was preparing to despatch under La Fayette, for the reduction 
of a strong garrison which the British held under General Pigot on the islands of 
Bciy 

The arrival of this fleet was a source of great joy and gratification to La 
Fayette. It represented before the world the alliance of the country of his birth 
and that of his adoption. He was a thorough and sincere American in this strug¬ 
gle for liberty, but this in no way displaced his innate patriotism, bred through 
generations of soldiers and courtiers, and his heart warmed with a Frenchman s 
pride in the prowess and magnificence of his country’s tribute, while it opened in 
thankfulness for the timely help promised the American cause. His native rank 

15 
















and prestige, with his high 
standing in the esteem of the 
army and Congress, marked 
him providentially for an inter¬ 
nuncio between these two peo¬ 
ples united in a common cause 
but with fundamentally differ¬ 
ing sentiments and customs. 
This duty was made particularly 
pleasant by the fact that the 
Comte d’Estaing was his rela¬ 
tive and an Auvergnat which 
was taken advantage of, at the 
request of General Washington, 
to assure the Admiral of the au¬ 
thenticity of the first dispatches 
from the American camp by 
reference to family and provin¬ 
cial matters. La Fayette had 
good reason for his gratification 
at the turn of affairs. He had 
left France in actual though re¬ 
gretful defiance of his honored 
King’s commands, to champion 
an almost hopeless cause, and 
now, after two years of effort 
and advancement he beheld his 
country’s forces by his side, and 
his King’s minister received 
with high honor at Philadelphia. 
His eager desire to share in the 
glory to be won through the op¬ 
erations of the allies was grati- 








> 







LA FAYETTE MONUMENT 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

BY FALGUIERE AND MERCIER 


fied by the Commander-in-chief with the command of a detachment of two thou¬ 
sand men to augment the forces under Major-General Sullivan, consisting chiefly 
of militia which he was endeavoring to increase by levies from neighboring states. 
It was Washington’s intention that La Fayette should lead this entire force, under 
General Sullivan’s direction, but before La Fayette reached Providence the claims 
of General Greene, in this his native state, presented themselves, and he modified 
his instructions to the former, with the request that he relinquish one half his 
command to Greene, whose special fitness for this occasion was noted, and La Fay¬ 
ette with his usual good grace acquiesced, although experiencing some disappoint¬ 
ment at this curtailment of his opportunities in concert with his countrymen. 
He reached Providence on the fourth of August, soon after the arrival of the fleet, 
which was anxious for immediate action, impelled by the evident weakness of the 
British situation and the necessity of early relief from an epidemic of scurvy en¬ 
gendered by the lack of fresh water and wholesome food; this was postponed at 
the request of General Sullivan, who had as yet received but a small part of his 
expected militia, and it was several days before he was ready to begin, during 
which General Pigot made important changes in the disposition of his troops and 
greatly strengthened his position. He had a garrison of six thousand men, the 
greater part of whom were at Newport, with a detachment at the northern end of 
the island guarding the passage from the mainland and another on the adjacent 
island of Canonicut; these were strongly intrenched and supported by several 
frigates and smaller craft. Realizing that his situation was critical, the British 
commander abandoned the post on Canonicut, which was certain to fall an easy 
prey before the fire of the French fleet and the troops from the mainland. He also 
blew up or burned the vessels, that would otherwise have been at the mercy of the 
greatly superior enemy, sending some of them adrift as fireships among the ap¬ 
proaching fleet. 

When at last on the eighth of August General Sullivan declared himself in 
readiness for the combined attack and transmitted the plan to the Comte d’Es- 

16 






























taing, only the necessity for harmonious action prevented a breach of the strained 
relations between the allies, each of which regarded the other jealously. La 
Fayette was called upon to exercise his tact to the utmost to maintain a degree 
of confidence between them, while his own feelings were lacerated by the seem¬ 
ing indifference of the Americans to the rights and merits of his countrymen. 
It having been agreed that the attack should be made simultaneously on the morn¬ 
ing of Monday, August tenth, the Comte d’Estaing on the eighth moved his ships 
to the chosen stations, the chief squadron entering the main channel unharmed 
by the broadsides from the batteries on Rhode Island, to a point advantageous 
for disembarking the troops which were to serve on Canonicut with the Amer¬ 
icans under La Fayette. On Sunday, while the troops and field pieces were being 
landed, word was sent to the Comte d’Estaing by La Fayette that General Sullivan 
had taken advantage of the retreat of the British from their northern fortifica¬ 
tions on the approach of the French ships that were sent up the East Channel, 
and had crossed over to Rhode Island with his troops, though unable to trans¬ 
port his cannon, and that he desired assistance from the French Admiral. This 
deviation from the carefully arranged plan was doubtless of little consequence 
from General Sullivan’s point of view, but to the professional soldier, on whom 
he now relied, it was the shattering of every tradition of recognized warfare and 
an affront affecting every one of his self-sacrificing compatriots. Notwithstand¬ 
ing his wounded sensibilities and the poignant regret that his men would thus be 
deprived of their just meed of glory in the expected victory, he was preparing to 
send the desired assistance when he received intelligence of a powerful fleet that 
had arrived outside to succor the beleaguered garrison. This alarming news found 
him in a weakened position, his ships widely separated and many of his men on 
shore, and he decided to immediately embark his men and call a council of his 
captains to decide on the question of offensive or defensive action. The council 
declared in favor of concentration of the fleet during the night in readiness to 
receive attack, as the wind was unfavorable to passage outward, but in the morn¬ 
ing the wind veered to a favorable direction and they at once set sail to meet and 
challenge Lord Howe. Three frigates were left to protect General Sullivan, to 
whom assurances were transmitted that the Comte d’Estaing would return and 
take part in the attack as soon as he had defeated the British fleet. 

Having repassed the British batteries on Rhode Island without serious dam¬ 
age from their broadsides, he approached the enemy under full sail, and the latter 
hastily left their anchorage and put to sea, standing again toward New York. 
The French followed with all possible speed, and late in the afternoon had so 
gained upon them that orders were given for a general attack, which Lord Howe 
was preparing to meet, when a severe storm arose and obliged the admirals to 
give their undivided attention to the preservation of their ships. The storm con¬ 
tinued with great fury throughout the night, and when morning broke both fleets 
were scattered and badly damaged, the “Languedoc,” the Comte d’Estaing’s flag¬ 
ship, having lost her rudder and all her masts. In this helpless condition she was 
attacked by one of the British ships, which fortunately did not press its advan¬ 
tage, and other desultory engagements took place, but neither fleet was in condi¬ 
tion’for combat and after a consultation with his captains the Comte d’Estaing 
turned toward Newport—his own ship in tow of a less crippled one—and the 
British returned to New York without further molestation. The council of cap¬ 
tains strongly favored immediate retreat to Boston for refitting and replenishing 
the almost utterly exhausted or contaminated supplies, and by the strict terms of 
his royal orders the Admiral was required to do this, but as he had given his 
word that he would return to Newport he determined to do so,, although it was 
evident that he was in no condition to render aid to General Sullivan. On ai rival 
he presented his situation to the American Commander, and advised him of the 
necessity of taking his fleet straightway to Boston, as the conditions and his orders 
required. He promised to return at the earliest possible, day and resume opera¬ 
tions, but the American officers refused to be satisfied with this, and his sailing 
was followed by a protest signed by all but General La Fayette. 

The position of the latter was fast becoming unbearable under the succession 
of misfortunes and misunderstandings that marked the Comte d Estaing s ill- 
starred expedition. His honor as a Frenchman, dearer even than his hope for 
American liberty, was frequently and deeply wounded by the disparaging com- 

17 














ments and recriminations he heard from his brother officers, and by the unfriendly 
looks that met him on every side. Under this he maintained his usual poise and 
dignity, but his feelings found vent in a heartfelt letter to General Washington 
and in personal protest to General Sullivan, when the latter in the heat of resent¬ 
ment included in his general order a slighting reference to the allies. He con¬ 
vinced the commander of the necessity of retraction, and a later order of the same 
day explained what, it noted, had unwarrantably appeared to be a reflection on 
the Comte d’Estaing and his fleet. While he resented the attitude of his com¬ 
panions toward his compatriots, La Fayette in no way relaxed his efforts to secure 
mutual cooperation, and he had earnestly endeavored to dissuade the Comte 
d’Estaing from departing until some decisive blow could be struck. Having 
failed in this he rode post haste to Boston, at the request of General Sullivan, 
to urge the detachment of an auxiliary force to aid in the land attack, and as a 
result of a conference with the French commander and the Massachusetts leaders, 
he brought back to General Sullivan assurance of the Comte d’Estaing’s readiness 
to personally command a regiment of reinforcements which would be entirely at 
the disposal of the American General. The Count made this offer to show his 
freedom from ill-will as a result of recent dissensions, and to restore harmony, as 
he had no faith in the value of such an inconsiderable augmenting of the forces, 
but his complaisance proved fruitless as an attack had been precipitated the day 
after La Fayette’s departure from the field and the latter reached Rhode Island 
again just in time to take charge of the last section of a midnight retreat to the 
mainland. On the twentieth of August he had made the journey to Boston, a dis¬ 
tance of seventy miles, in seven hours, and arrived almost at the same hour as 
the French fleet. On the thirtieth he made the return trip in six and one half 
hours, reaching camp at eleven o’clock at night. 

In leaving the army in the face of imminent action he sacrificed his keenest 
ambitions to the will of his superior. The struggle which had been the object 
of his hopes and efforts for more than a month was forced by the British, when 
the Americans, after a council of war and in view of their growing weakness from 
rapidly deserting militia and the peril of their position in the event of the ex¬ 
pected return of the English fleet, returned to their former position at the north¬ 
ern end of the island, where the adjacent mainland would enable them to retreat 
if necessary. This was accomplished on the night of August twenty-eighth, 
and early on the morning of the twenty-ninth General Pigot discovered the 
movement and hurried his forces to a vigorous attack. General Sullivan dis¬ 
played great skill and bravery in the resulting engagement in which he repulsed 
three determined assaults, and in the last completely routed the enemy, who re¬ 
treated in disorder, leaving many dead and wounded on the field. At the 
end of the day the British were intrenched on a neighboring hill, and the two 
armies confronted each other with minor skirmishes during the thirtieth, while 
on the American side a council of war, called on the receipt of a message from 
General Washington announcing the departure of Lord Howe for Newport, de¬ 
clared for immediate retreat to the mainland. In pursuance of this, the heavy 
baggage was sent to the rear, while at the front a show was made of strength¬ 
ening the fortifications. As soon as darkness permitted the transportation of the 
troops was begun which La Fayette on his arrival from Boston completed with¬ 
out discovery or mishap. This movement proved a fortunate escape, as on the 
following morning Lord Howe arrived with a fleet of one hundred vessels and with 
reinforcements for the garrison. 

The action on Rhode Island marked the close of operations against the east¬ 
ern stronghold of the British and terminated the activities of the allies under 
the Comte d’Estaing. Having set out with a splendid equipment and with the 
high hopes of France and America, as well as with undoubted personal enthu¬ 
siasm, he had failed, through a succession of misfortunes, to accomplish any of 
the great objects of his expedition, and in now preparing to sail for the West 
Indies, he was carrying out what was expected to have been a triumphant descent 
upon the British possessions after clearing the coast of their ships, whereas the 
close of his campaign left America more menaced than before, as the presence of 
his fleet had been the cause of a greater strengthening of British naval forces on 
this side of the Atlantic. On the breaking up of the command, La Fayette was 
left to defend the country around Bristol while General Sullivan with the main 

18 













BUILT ON THE MERRIMAC RIVER AT SALISBURY POINT, NEAR NEWBURYPORT, MASS. 


| 

( 


body of the troops went to Providence. The Marquis had expressed to General 
Washington his mortification and regret at his enforced absence from the field of 
battle, to which his inherited profession of soldier most ardently impelled him, 
and it was therefore especially consoling to receive, as he did soon after, a copy 
of a resolution of Congress noting his service in Boston and thanking him for his 
self-sacrifice at a time of impending action. It was accompanied by a cordial 
letter from the President, Henry Laurens, to whom La Fayette returned expres¬ 
sions of his gratification and his sincere and abounding love for America and its 
cause of liberty. 

With the approach of winter and the prospect of inactivity for some months, 
he recurred to his desire to visit his home, which he had entertained the pre¬ 
vious year but which had been frustrated by the proposed expedition to Canada. 
He had now an incentive added to the joy of reunion with his family, the possi¬ 
bility that his service would be required in a descent on England under his coun¬ 
try’s flag, of which the Comte d’Estaing had suggested a probability. He obtained 
leave of absence to visit Philadelphia, and on his way spent a day with General 
Washington at his headquarters on the Hudson, and received the Commander-in- 
chief’s approval of his petition for a furlough to return to France. An ill-con¬ 
sidered affair came up at this time, when Lord Carlisle, one of the commissioners 
sent by England to offer terms of peace to America, referred slightingly to France 
in an address to Congress. La Fayette, with youthful and with French impulse, 
against the remonstrances of General Washington and the Comte d’Estaing, chal¬ 
lenged the commissioner to give him an opportunity to avenge the insult, but 
Lord Carlisle refused to regard it as a personal matter and suggested that.it was 
one fitter for the French and English admirals to decide—a view in which La 
Fayette in later years coincided. 

Congress, always ready to honor the beloved marquis, not only granted him 
an indefinite furlough but extended their thanks for his zeal and services and 
further “Resolved, That the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of 
America at the court of Versailles be directed to cause an elegant sword with 
proper devices, to be made and presented, in the name of the United States, to the 
Marquis de La Fayette.” It was also ordered that the new frigate “Alliance, 
then at Boston ready for sea, be held to carry him to France. He set out from 


19 












































































































































Philadelphia with buoyant anticipations of his glorious return, but the chilling 
weather of the late fall found in him a weakened victim, and a growing illness 
overtook him with prostration at Fishkill on the Hudson, only a few miles from 
the headquarters of his dearest friend in America. There he lay for weeks toss¬ 
ing in violent fever while the army and the country mourned him as one departed, 
so little hope was entertained of his recovery. General Washington visited the 
house daily to learn of his condition, and he sent to attend him, Dr. John Cochran, 
Surgeon General of the Army, under whose skillful and devoted care he finally 
rallied. As soon as his strength returned sufficiently he bade an affectionate 
farewell to his dear friend, and with Dr. Cochran, who was still solicitous, de¬ 
parted for Boston, where he passed a short period of convalescence while 
awaiting the complement of the frigate’s crew. He kept up correspondence 
with Washington to the moment of sailing, and he took with him a most cordial 
and appreciative introduction from the latter to Dr. Franklin, while Congress 
addressed to King Louis a remarkable testimonial to his character and abilities 
in the service of the United States. 

The “Alliance” sailed from Boston on the eleventh of January, 1779, and made 
a quick passage in spite of especially rough weather, arriving at Brest on the 
twelfth of February. La Fayette had left France less than two years before under 
the ban of a lettre de cachet; he now returned a recognized and an honored hero. 
The lettre de cachet was, technically, still in force against him, and he went at 
once to Versailles where he met the King’s Ministers and was most cordially re¬ 
ceived, but out of respect to the law was arrested and committed to the Hotel de 
Noailles—his family residence. Here he gave himself up to the joy of reunion 
with his wife and kindred, and received the notables who hastened to pay their 
respects and consult him, and the ladies who flocked, in the allowable French 
fashion, to embrace him. He saw for the first time his daughter Anastasia, born 
since his departure, who now occupied the place of the lost Henriette. After a 
few days he wrote a letter of humble apology to the King and he was in conse¬ 
quence summoned to Versailles where he received a “reprimande douce” and con¬ 
gratulations from Louis XVI, and was restored to liberty with a hint to avoid as 
much as possible the public places where demonstrations by the people would call 
attention to the anomaly of his position. There is ample evidence that such 
sequestration was warranted, as popular acclaim had reached such a height that 
nightly allusions to him in the theaters occasioned general applause. 

La Fayette was now able to give thought and effort to plans directly and 
indirectly favoring the revolution, and the high respect in which he was held at 
Versailles, especially by the Comte de Vergennes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
enabled him successfully to advocate them and resulted in incalculable good to 
the American cause. So critical and discouraging were conditions in France and 
America that but for the personal popularity of Franklin and La Fayette the 
fullness and continuance of the aid so indispensable at this juncture would have 
been unattainable. Through the influence of Queen Marie Antoinette he was 
made colonel of a regiment stationed at Saintes and from this place he addressed 
to the Ministry numerous suggestions upon the common cause, and in particular 
upon a projected expedition to invade England in which he was extremely desir¬ 
ous of taking a prominent part. The expedition was finally arranged and he left 
for Havre where the army and navy were to rendezvous for this purpose, his 
assignment being that of aide to the Comte de Vaux, the Commander-in-chief. 
Great preparations were made for a combined attack by the forces of France 
and Spain, but owing to extreme tardiness on the part of the fleet under Comte 
d’Orvilliers, which was to convoy the transports, British contradefense so pro¬ 
gressed that the feasibility of the plan was in doubt and it was finally aban¬ 
doned late in the summer of 1779 after months of waiting. While at Havre La 
Fayette received with warmly expressed pleasure the sword made for him in 
Paris under Franklin’s direction by order of Congress, and now brought to 
him with an appreciative letter from the envoy by his grandson Temple Franklin. 
This sword was of exquisite workmanship and depicted on the golden hilt 
and guard the scenes in which La Fayette’s bravery and skill had been most 
conspicuous. 

Even while the invasion of England was expected, La Fayette was develop¬ 
ing, at the request of M. de Vergennes, a comprehensive and detailed plan for a 

20 










second expedition to Amer¬ 
ica, and in the latter part 
of July he forwarded this 
to the Secretary with such co¬ 
pious notes and instructions 
based upon his knowledge of 
the country and experience in 
its affairs that the memorial 
was accepted as an adequate 
embodiment of the subject 
and became the foundation of 
the plan which, upon the aban¬ 
donment of the Channel cam¬ 
paign, was definitely adopted. 
Thus through La Fayette the 
energies of France were again 
bent to succor and aid the en¬ 
feebled cause of liberty whose 
exhausted defenders were now 
reduced to critical inefficiency. 
Through correspondence and 
consultation between La Fay¬ 
ette and the Comte de Ver- 
gennes the final arrangements 
were made and early in March, 
1780, the Marquis found him¬ 
self on board the frigate 
“Hermione” bound once more 



PORTRAIT AND LETTER BY LAFAYETTE for America, this time as the 

from the original in the capitol, Richmond honored servant of his King, 

bearing to General Washing¬ 
ton the tidings of ships, and troops that were soon to follow, and his majesty’s sug¬ 
gestions for their effective employment under the American Commander-in-chief. 
On the twenty-eighth of April the “Hermione” arrived at Boston where great 
joy was manifested at the return of La Fayette, who was escorted through 
cheering crowds to the residence of General Hancock. He at once wrote Gen¬ 
eral Washington apprising him of his arrival and intention of starting the next 
day to seek him and deliver the important messages with which he was in¬ 
trusted. He was at that time ignorant of recent movements of the army and 
of the location of headquarters but following later intelligence he found the 
General at Morristown, where he arrived on the tenth of May. He was re¬ 
ceived with gratifying enthusiasm by the officers and soldiers and with heartfelt 
pleasure by Washington, to whom he announced the coming of the new expedi¬ 
tion, under the Comte de Rochambeau, and presented the suggestions of the 
ministry contained in his instructions from the Comte de Vergennes. After 
spending a few days with General Washington and discussing the combined oper¬ 
ations, La Fayette continued to Philadelphia to present himself to Congress 
and to confer with the Chevalier de La Luzerne, who had succeeded M. Gerard 
as French Minister to the United States. He was heartily welcomed by Con¬ 
gress, which as a body had as yet no knowledge of the news he brought, it 
having been thought wise to withhold this information until the arrival of the 
fleet, for fear of giving warning to General Clinton. Before the French arrived 
however the matter was generally known and discussed, as the British had received 
dispatches from England reporting the movement. 

Washington’s great anxiety was to properly support and feed the allies and 
he urged the governors of the several states to exert themselves to the utmost to 
raise men and provisions for the purpose. His own army had frequently been 
without bread or meat for days at a time, so scant were the resources available, 
but he felt that now or never must the supreme effort be made to. strike a crush¬ 
ing blow, and this would be impossible and the French cooperation again fruit¬ 
less without troops and rations. The fleet, which arrived at Narragansett Bay 
early in July, consisted of six ships of the line and five frigates with five thou- 


21 













sand five hundred troops. More troops were to have been sent but the transports 
for bringing them were delayed and it was thought best to sail at once with all 
that could be carried, leaving the balance to be forwarded when opportunity 
offered. They were hardly inside the Rhode Island capes when several British 
men-of-war appeared and they came out again to meet these, but the British were 
apparently discouraged by the strength of their enemy for they turned and put 
back to New York. The Comte de Rochambeau immediately sent a letter to 
General Washington placing himself and his forces at the Commander-in-chief’s 
disposal, on receipt of which La Fayette was despatched to Newport with a plan 
of action against New York, which then seemed feasible because of a preponder¬ 
ance of naval strength on the French side—and which Washington regarded as 
the most important object attainable—but before he reached Rhode Island rein¬ 
forcements under Admiral Graves arrived which gave the British the naval supe¬ 
riority and put the French commanders on the defensive. The situation of the 
French was rendered more dubious by the incapacity, through illness, of a large 
proportion of the troops and sailors, and Admiral de Ternay feared for his fleet 
a repetition of the failure of the Comte d’Estaing. A few British men-of-war 
appeared off Newport and were driven back by a portion of the French fleet, which 
were unable to overtake them, but they in turn were pursued by a large fleet of 
the enemy which soon appeared and which set up a blockade of Narragan- 
sett Bay. As General Clinton was known to be preparing a large expedition 
to move against the combined forces of General Heath and the Comte de Rocham¬ 
beau on Rhode Island, the surrounding country was drawn on for militia to swell 
the ranks, and the French General strongly urged General Washington to send a 
body of regulars to his assistance, but for many reasons the Commander-in-chief 
decided against this, mainly because he felt that by using his army to threaten 
New York from the West and thereby restrain General Clinton, he could more 
effectively relieve the forces at Newport. The issue was as he hoped and the 
expedition was soon abandoned, although there is reason to believe that other con¬ 
siderations contributed to this result. 

Although the situation was relieved it was still unfavorable, and La Fayette 
took up with the Comte de Rochambeau the plan of attacking New York, which 
the aid of the second division from Brest, which was now shortly expected, would 
render promising. Much depended on this division as it was to bring clothing 
for fifteen thousand men, and large quantities of arms and powder, all of which 
La Fayette had arranged for, but which the first division was unable to bring on 
account of the lack of transports. The need of these munitions was greatly felt 
in the work of building up the army for the projected operations, but patience 
and patriotism on the part of officers and men made the best of the deficiency. 
Having established an understanding as to the movements to be made when oper¬ 
ations were begun, La Fayette returned to the headquarters on the Hudson and 
was given the command of a corps of light infantry, consisting of six battalions, 
which General Washington had formed with this in view. As the light infantry 
would naturally be in the van in any movement 
the commission was both flattering and pleas¬ 
ing to the Marquis, and the relations thus begun 
between commander and men were notable for 
cordiality and permanence. 

Late in August the frigate “Alliance” ar¬ 
rived at Boston and brought information that 
the second division of the French fleet was 
blockaded by thirty English ships outside the 
harbor Brest. This put an end to hopes of 
immediate reinforcements and supplies from 
France and it became necessary to give up the 
plan of an attack on New York until greater 
naval strength was available. Regret for this 
misfortune was particularly poignant because 
of the lateness of the season, and the fact that 
a large part of the army would retire at the 
end of the year through expiration of their 
terms of enlistment. At this juncture General 

22 



COMMEMORATIVE PLATE 
Owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art 





















Washington, in compliance with a request from the Comte de Rochambeau, ap¬ 
pointed September twentieth at Hartford for a conference on the situation and 
prospects. The Commander-in-chief was accompanied on this occasion by General 
La Fayette and General Knox, while with the Comte de Rochambeau and Admiral 
de Ternay were several other French officers. The conference was most deferen¬ 
tial on both sides, and the serious deficiencies of force and resources being recog¬ 
nized by all, mutually signed statements were executed which strongly urged the 
King of France to provide the necessary ships and supplies, and a copy of these 
addressed to Comte de Vergennes was delivered to the Vicomte de Rochambeau, 
the son of the General, who sailed at once for France in one of the vessels of the 
fleet. To further urge this appeal Congress despatched Colonel John Laurens, 
the son of their President, to the court at Versailles. The American officers re¬ 
turned to headquarters by way of West Point to give General Washington an 
opportunity to inspect the fortifications there and confer with General Benedict 
Arnold who at his own urgent request had recently been appointed to command 
this post. The hand of fate, which alike shapes good and ill fortune, brought them 
there at the very hour of Major Andre’s arrest at Tarrytown while returning 
from the fort with Arnold’s traitorous contract of surrender, and the latter, hav¬ 
ing the fortune to be first informed of this, fled without greeting them. In a 
most detailed and interesting account of the calamity which he wrote to the 
Chevalier de La Luzerne, La Fayette expressed his horror of the revelation and 
related the circumstances attending it, commending also to the sympathies of 
patriots the stricken wife of the traitor, who, he was convinced, was ignorant of 
the plot. He was a member of the court-martial which condemned Major Andre 
to be hung, and he signed the judgment, regretting deeply that the inexorable 
necessities of war required beyond any shadow of doubt the execution of this tal¬ 
ented and lovable young man. 

September was now near its end, and with Admiral de Ternay’s fleet block¬ 
aded at Newport and the American army unequal in numbers or equipment to the 
British under General Clinton, there was little prospect of accomplishing any de¬ 
cisive movement during the few weeks that would intervene before going into 
winter quarters. La Fayette with his usual zeal, and especially in consideration 
of the moral necessity of presenting some report of action to the waiting Minis¬ 
try, urged various secondary attacks upon the British outposts around New York 
and one of these had been determined upon when an unexpected movement of the 
enemy’s ships disarranged the plan. He chafed under inactivity and he feared 
for the reputation of the American army and the success of the expedition which 
his country had sent here. While he was agitated by these regrets the Chevalier 
de Chastellux, a dear friend who was serving under Comte de Rochambeau, took ad¬ 
vantage of the settled routine of the win¬ 
ter camp at Newport and visited head¬ 
quarters for some days while on his way 
to Philadelphia. In a charming account 
of his travels M. de Chastellux describes 
his delight at meeting and knowing Gen¬ 
eral Washington, who received him. most 
graciously, and his gratification at 
the remarkable position and in¬ 
fluence of the Marquis de La Fay¬ 
ette, both among his troops and the 
country in general, while 


he further says of him,.“I 
do not fear contradiction 
when I say that private let¬ 
ters from him have fre¬ 
quently produced more 
effect upon some states 
than the strongest exhor¬ 
tations of the Congress.” 
Soon after the Marquis de 
Chastellux arrived at Phil¬ 
adelphia, La Fayette ob- 


LA FAYETTE CHINA IN METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
Reproduced by permission 


23 
















tained leave of absence and joined him, there being no special occasion for 
his services at the winter quarters to which the army had now repaired. From 
that city his attention was turned southward and in the hope of active service he 
requested General Washington to transfer him to the department under General 
Greene, who was endeavoring to regain General Gates’ lost ground in South Caro¬ 
lina and Georgia. General Washington at this time feared that by renouncing his 
command in the northern army La Fayette would unwisely forfeit his share in the 
glory to be achieved when reinforcements should make possible the reduction of 
New York, and he advised the Marquis to decide the matter in the light of the 
fullest information that he could obtain from France as to the probability of 
immediate succor. Everything now depended on substantial aid from that coun¬ 
try. The British easily dominated the naval situation, while the army,, through 
lack of funds and consequent lack of food and clothing, was reduced to its lowest 
efficiency—with rapidly dwindling ranks and little hope of recruits. The uni¬ 
forms and supplies which La Fayette had arranged for, were still at the mercy of 
the British fleet blockading Brest, and although public spirited men and women 
worked diligently to supply the deficiency, the suffering was but slightly relieved. 
On the occasion of the raising of a fund in Philadelphia for this purpose, La Fay¬ 
ette contributed one hundred guineas in the name of his wife, and accompanied the 
gift with a letter assuring the ladies having the matter in charge that the Mar¬ 
quise would, were she present, most heartily enter into the work. While at Phil¬ 
adelphia he frequently wrote to Comte de Vergennes and others of the Ministry 
urging speedy assistance, and to M. de Vergennes and to Madame de La Fayette 
recommending Colonel Laurens, the special envoy, to the highest social favors. 
He gave up his idea of joining the southern army and early in January, 1781, he 
returned to the headquarters at New Windsor to pass the rest of the winter with 
General Washington with whom he hoped to visit his countrymen at Newport. 

While he thus renounced his desire for southern service the movements of 
the British were soon to bring about in a more gratifying way than La Fayette 
had expected, his participation in the campaign in that section. Confined to New 
York in the North, General Clinton had long since transferred aggressive oper¬ 
ations to the South, hoping thus to restrict by degrees the territory of the rebels, 
and through several successful engagements had taken Savannah and Charles¬ 
ton, at which latter city he had left Lord Cornwallis with upwards of four thou¬ 
sand troops, to hold it and, if possible, extend his domination northward. On the 
American side, General Benjamin Lincoln and his army had been forced to sur¬ 
render at Charleston, and Congress had formed and despatched a new corps from 
Maryland and Delaware, under Baron de Kalb, and given the command of the 
Department of the South to General Gates who, taking his army into South Car¬ 
olina, was met and utterly defeated at Camden, the Baron de Kalb being killed in 
the action. Cornwallis sought to take advantage of his success by marching 
through North Carolina, but was checked by an American victory in an engage¬ 
ment with a division of his troops at King’s Mountain and drew back over the 
South Carolina border. Sir Henry Clinton, on learning of the success at Cam¬ 
den, despatched a force of three thousand men under General Leslie to establish a 
base near the James river in Virginia, and operate in that vicinity subject to 
orders from the southern commander. The latter soon called General Leslie to 
his support in South Carolina and the British Commander-in-chief made up an¬ 
other expedition to enter Virginia under the traitor Benedict Arnold, who now 
held the rank of brigadier general in the British army. These operations were 
followed with intense interest by General Washington, who cherished the hope of 
dislodging the British from their strongholds in the South. He was authorized 
by Congress to appoint General Nathanael Greene to supersede Gates, and the 
former was already in North Carolina with the nucleus of an army, when Arnold 
arrived at the James river on the thirtieth of December, 1780. General Greene 
had aroused the country through which he passed, to fresh and notable exertions 
for the support of his troops, and was gathering an effective army at Charlotte, 
North Carolina, but as he was fully occupied in checking Cornwallis it was neces¬ 
sary to combat Arnold with another division. To this end General Washington 
detached a part of the Light Infantry commanded by La Fayette in the fall of 
1780, and ordered a rendezvous of New Jersey troops at Morristown—in all 
about twelve hundred men—which he placed under La Fayette with instructions 

24 










ASSEMBLY HALL AND LIBRARY, BALTIMORE 


FROM A PRINT OWNED BY THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

to proceed at once to the hea4 of the Elk river and from there to embark, under 
French convoy if possible, for Hampton Roads or other advantageous point. 

La Fayette received the command on the twentieth of February and started 
at once on the mission. He planned so wisely and marched so expeditiously that 
he reached the Elk several days ahead of the date mentioned by General Wash¬ 
ington in his instructions, notwithstanding unfavorable weather and roads. He 
had seen to the shipment of ammunition and supplies from Philadelphia and writ¬ 
ten Governor Jefferson of Virginia requesting reinforcements of militia and also 
horses for the artillery he had received on the way, and his expedition, so far as 
his control of it extended, had every prospect of success. In his instructions he 
was ordered to embark his troops only when certain that French vessels were in 
Chesapeake Bay to support them, but after waiting several days for the collection 
of the required boats La Fayette embarked his men and took them to Annapolis, 
which he considered a point of greater advantage, from whence he continued 
down the bay to investigate conditions and if the French were there to personally 
request of the commander the convoy which, from his knowledge of the jealousies 
still obtaining with the allies, he felt was unlikely to be sent. 

Admiral de Ternay the commander of the French fleet at Newport had died 
there early in the winter and his place had been taken by the Chevalier des Touches, 
hitherto second in command. The latter was earnest for active operations and 
during a storm which scattered and weakened the British blockading fleet, he was 
enabled to despatch a ship of the line and two frigates for Chesapeake Bay in 
response to requests from Congress and the Governor of Virginia, who were 
alarmed by the Arnold expedition and hoped to check it by destroying its trans¬ 
ports. These vessels left Newport on the ninth of February but as the British 
ships were then safe in the Elizabeth river at Portsmouth they soon returned 
without accomplishing their purpose, although they justified their attempt by 
capturing at sea several of the enemy’s ships and destroying others. 

General Washington was ignorant of the departure of this squadron and when 
he learned of it predicted the result, but he urged M. des Touches to proceed 
there with his entire fleet and a suitable detachment of land forces which he 
regarded as essential to the purpose. It was this expedition which he relied upon 
to support La Fayette, and though it eventually sailed, nothing was accomplished 
as it was overtaken at the entrance of Chesapeake Bay by Admiral Arbuthnot 
and a blockading fleet, and after a hard fought battle in which neither side 
gained a victory, was obliged to return to Newport for repairs. A few miles 

25 























































































































away La Fayette, unconscious 
of the repulse, was at York- 
town, Williamsburg and other 
points where stores could be col¬ 
lected or information of the 
enemy gained, and he learned 
with gratification that in re¬ 
sponse to his appeals Baron 
Steuben, who had been sta¬ 
tioned at Richmond, had raised 
five thousand militia to serve 
with the troops then resting at 
Annapolis. While reconnoiter- 
ing the enemy’s position at 
Portsmouth with General Muhl¬ 
enberg, whom he visited at his 
camp at Suffolk, he learned of 
the arrival of a fleet which he 
naturally supposed to be that of 
Admiral des Touches, but which 
to his great astonishment and 
disappointment he later found 
to be British. La Fayette’s in¬ 
structions required him in the 
event of success or failure of 
the original plan to return to 
headquarters as expeditiously 
as possible, and he therefore set out by land for Annapolis, going by way of 
Richmond and allowing himself the pleasure of visiting General Washington’s 
mother at Fredericksburg and his home at Mount Vernon, for which delay he 
made amends by riding at night. On arriving at Annapolis he found the return 
of his fleet blocked by two small gunboats which the British commander had 
immediately sent up the bay, and the matter of reaching the head of the Elk 
became a serious question, as to go by land would necessitate the sacrifice of 
artillery and heavy stores which he had no means of transporting such a distance, 
and for which no wagons could be found although the surrounding country was 
searched. The forward passage of the fleet of ninety-seven boats had been made 
under Commodore Nicholson of Baltimore and he was ready to take them back 
at the first opportunity of eluding the gunboats. This opportunity came, after 
the land passage had been given up as unfeasible, through a plan of Colonel 
Ebenezer Stevens, proposed at a council of the officers. Under his direction two 
of the largest sloops, each about sixty-two tons burden, were armed with can¬ 
non, and, fitted with awnings to protect the crew, they resolutely sallied forth. 
Although greatly superior in armament the British did not see fit to test it, and 
they dropped down the bay a safe distance while the fleet triumphantly emerged 
and made a rapid passage to the point of their embarkation. Arrived again at the 
head of the Elk, La Fayette’s plans were once more reversed by the receipt of a 
recent letter from General Washington in which he retracted, after very serious 
consideration, an earlier confirmation of the original instructions to return, and 
directed him to proceed as rapidly as possible to the support of General Greene. 

While this was directly in line with his earlier expectations, La Fayette 
found it difficult to carry this order into effect with the troops turned toward 
the North. They did not like the prospect of a summer in an impoverished 
army in the warm climate of Virginia or North Carolina, and desertions became 
alarmingly frequent. To check these, La Fayette took extreme measures which 
were entirely successful. He hung one deserter and reprimanded two others, 
and then in an order of the day he announced the nature and hazards of the 
proposed expedition, and that he would not force any soldier to encounter these 
against his will, but to obviate the occasion for deserting he would on applica¬ 
tion from any who wished to return to the North grant them a pass to headquarters. 
Thus placed upon their mettle they cheerfully accepted the situation, and deser¬ 
tion, which had threatened to destroy his army, ceased entirely. Considerable 

26 





MONUMENT—SCENE OF SURRENDER 

YORKTOWN, VA. 



















difficulty was experienced from head winds while crossing the Susquehanna river 
at Bald Friar Ferry, but without further incident the troops reached Baltimore 
where it was hoped to obtain much needed supplies of clothing and shoes. The 
finances of Congress were then at their lowest ebb and even Robert Morris, to 
whom the burden had been transferred, was unable to meet the requirements, 
so that no help could be expected through regular channels. It was impossible to 
proceed without the supplies, however, and La Fayette on his personal security 
borrowed two thousand guineas of the merchants of the city, with a large part 
of which he bought cloth for overalls and shirts, and with the balance hats and 
shoes. At a ball given in his honor in the new Assembly Hall he appealed to the 
ladies to make up the garments, with the result that the next day the dancing 
hall was turned into a busy workroom and those who had graced the ball vied 
with each other in the work of clothing the soldiers. 

With spirits revived by new and serviceable outfits, the expedition left Balti¬ 
more on the nineteenth of April and began the campaign that was to end in the 
most glorious event of the war. Many other carefully matured plans had been 
set at naught by disappointment and delays and unpropitious elements, but for 
this one, to an extent far greater than even the Commander-in-chief could foresee, 
a beneficent Providence was drawing together long hoped-for and long deferred 
advantages, to unite them in a crown of victory. That victory was the capture 
of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and the path to it was virtually direct from this point, 
although incidental detours were necessary, and slowly ripening conditions coun¬ 
seled delay. 

Pressing forward with the utmost rapidity by forced marches, and unim¬ 
peded by tents, baggage, or artillery, which followed under guard, La Fayette 
arrived at Richmond with his troops on the twenty-ninth of April just in time 
to prevent the capture of the city by General Phillips, who had come up the James 
river with a strong force and was then but a few miles below Manchester on the 
opposite bank. Phillips, although stronger in disciplined troops than La Fayette, 
and greatly exasperated by the sight of the latter’s well chosen camp, did not see fit 
to contest "his position but after burning some tobacco warehouses at Manchester, 
abandoned his object and dropped down the river by stages to Brandon, where he 
encamped on the south shore. When Arnold first arrived in Virginia, he raided 
Richmond and destroyed an important ordnance foundry, but as the public 
stores and munitions had been conveyed to remote country towns, and it was 
necessary to return immediately to the coast, comparatively little damage was 
done; at this time large stores of ammunition and supplies were held in the mag¬ 
azines, which were the especial object of Phillips’ excursion, and the loss of these 
would have had a serious effect on the Virginia campaign. 

Lord Cornwallis, who had returned to Wilmington to recover from a disas¬ 
trous engagement with General Greene at Guilford Court House, now formed 
the plan of uniting his forces with those of General Phillips, who commanded over 
Arnold, to gain possession of Virginia, and isolate the South to hasten its conquest. 
He sent word of this plan to General Phillips and the latter, who had passed fur¬ 
ther down the river, returned to Brandon preparatory to marching to Peters¬ 
burg, the appointed rendezvous. This movement led La Fayette, who was fol¬ 
lowing him down the river at a safe distance, to believe that he intended another 
attack on Richmond, and he hastily returned with his own troops to that city, 
but he soon learned of Cornwallis’ approach and the menace to Petersburg, and 
he chafed at his inability, from lack of men, to go there and defend it. He con- 
firmed, however, by means of scouts, to keep watch over both armies and hoped 
for the speedy arrival of expected reinforcements under General Wayne which 
he planned to use to resist a combined attack. Owing to the great difficulty of 
organizing and equipping them, these reinforcements had not yet left Pennsyl¬ 
vania, and as La Fayette at this time received orders from General Greene to 
assume command of all forces in Virginia and protect the state to the best of his 
ability the importance of conserving and most efficiently employing his small 
army rendered him extremely cautious; he wrote that he hardly dared trust 
himself” and when it is realized that Virginia was then the key to the most vital 
issue of the war and that its protector, though so long a leader of men, was only 
twenty-four years of age, it is not surprising that the weight of this lesponsi 1 1 y 
with the insufficiency of his means, bore heavily upon him. While General Phillips 

27 














was on his way to Peters¬ 
burg he was stricken with a 
fever and soon afterward 
died, upon which the com¬ 
mand of his troops devolved 
again upon Benedict Arnold. 

Very soon after his reacces¬ 
sion he sent a letter to La 
Fayette under a flag of truce 
but the latter on learning 
the name of the sender re¬ 
fused to receive it, explain¬ 
ing to the bearer that he 
would gladly communicate 
with any other British offi¬ 
cer. This was in direct ac¬ 
cord with his instructions 
from General Washington 
and the dictates of his own 
feelings, and it was highly 
approved by the country, but 
it naturally angered Arnold, 
who threatened hardship to 
American prisoners, but no 
notice was taken of his 
threats and on the arrival 
of Cornwallis he was given 
leave of absence to report to 

General Clinton at New York __ 

and passed from the scene. ruins CHURCH TOWER, JAMESTOWN IS., VA. 

The operations of the built in the seventeenth century 

next two months exhibited to 

a remarkable degree La Fayette’s military abilities, and resulted, after devious 
marches and retreats by both sides, in driving the British into the trap from which 
they could not escape. Lord Cornwallis was joined by General Leslie with up¬ 
wards of two thousand troops and another descent was made upon Richmond, but 
La Fayette caused the stores to be removed, and by retiring in another direction 
led the enemy a chase through the neighboring country, which in the course of 
events, and with the arrival of General Wayne, became a pursuit by the Ameri¬ 
cans. The British raided many towns, including Richmond and Charlottesville, 
pillaging and destroying stores, and at the latter place made prisoners of seven 
members of the General Assembly—which had retired there from Richmond on 
the approach of Cornwallis—Governor Jefferson himself barely escaping. Only 
once was the safety of the American army in doubt, and that was at Green Spring 
Farm near Jamestown on the sixth of July, when as the British were retreating 
down the river, La Fayette was led into an undue approach by a report that they 
were about to cross in great haste. This proved to be a trap into which Lord Corn¬ 
wallis planned to draw the American commander, as he made it appear that the 
body of his troops had crossed and only a covering party remained, whereas the 
former were ambushed for an assault when La Fayette should open on the rear 
guard. By means of stragglers and pretended deserters who were instructed to 
misinform the Americans, La Fayette was led to make the attack, but he used 
such caution and made such an admirable disposition of his troops, that he in¬ 
flicted considerable loss on the enemy and did not expose himself to the annihi¬ 
lation they hoped for. He discovered the ruse early in the action, although the 
concealed troops had not then been brought out, and by skillful formation, and 
distinguished vigor and bravery on the part of General Wayne, he was able to 
retire without serious loss, while the British, realizing the failure of their strat¬ 
agem, crossed the river at nightfall and established themselves at Cobham. It 
is probable that no general action would have occurred had it not been precipi¬ 
tated while La Fayette was personally investigating the peculiarities of the 
advanced skirmish, as he then discovered the ambuscade, but when, on return- 

28 


























ing, he found the matter beyond re¬ 
call he entered valiantly into it, and 
was in the center of the combat lead¬ 
ing and encouraging the troops to the 
end, although his horse was twice 
shot from under him. His bravery en¬ 
deared him still further to the army 
and the country, and was recognized 
with respect by his antagonists. 
With the exception of a detachment 
which General Tarleton took on a 
futile raid to Amelia Court House 
the British retired from Cobham to 
Portsmouth, and La Fayette after 
having occupied Williamsburg with¬ 
drew his troops to a more salubrious 
position at Malvern Hill. He sent 
Generals Wayne and Morgan to 
watch Tarleton, upon which the latter 
also fell back on Portsmouth, leav¬ 
ing Virginia free from further alarm. 

La Fayette with his restricted 
view of the situation now regarded 
his work as finished, and hoped to be 
recalled to New York where he be¬ 
lieved that more important operations 
would soon take place. There was 
good reason for this supposition, as 
General Washington had not relin¬ 
quished his plan of driving the British 
from Manhattan and upon the arrival 
of Admiral the Comte de Barras, 
who came from France to command the fleet at Newport, a conference at Weth¬ 
ersfield, Connecticut, had decided to combine the French and American land 
forces on the Hudson, preparatory to making a general attack when the Comte 
de Grasse, who was expected from the West Indies, should arrive to strengthen 
the naval force. The proposed preliminary movements of the allied armies were 
intended, in a great measure, to alarm General Clinton and cause him to draw on 
his southern forces for support, thus to relieve the situation in Virginia, where 
at this time La Fayette appeared to have little prospect of holding Cornwallis in 
check. Fortunately, the report of the conference, which was despatched to Con¬ 
gress and the Chevalier de La Luzerne, fell into the hands of General Clinton by 
the capture of the messenger, and he at once sent the order to Cornwallis to 
embark his troops, which was the occasion of the latter’s withdrawal to Ports¬ 
mouth, the rendezvous of his fleet. 

At the Wethersfield conference the Comte de Rochambeau had urged the 
concentration of the allies on the Chesapeake, an alternative to which General 
Washington had already given much thought, but as the Comte de Barras de¬ 
clined on the ground of the insufficiency of his force to take his fleet there, the 
plan was kept in abeyance until circumstances should further develop its possi¬ 
bilities, the Comte de Rochambeau meanwhile sending an urgent appeal to the 
Comte de Grasse for ships, men and money for New York, though he also called 
his attention to the equal opportunity for service in the Chesapeake. Early in 
June a fleet arrived at Boston bringing upwards of six hundred additional troops 
for the Comte de Rochambeau, and ample funds for his and General Washing¬ 
ton’s armies, and on the arrival of these reinforcements at Newport General de 
Rochambeau started with his entire force to join the American army on-the Hud¬ 
son. The “Saggittaire,” which convoyed the French transports to Boston, also 
brought a letter from the Comte de Grasse whose fleet had left France with the 
other and kept it company for some time, which stated the admiral s intention of 
coming to the United States for a short visit which he hoped would prove advan¬ 
tageous to the allies, and the Comte de Rochambeau before breaking camp 

29 



REVOLUTIONARY POWDER HOUSE 

WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA 































THE VILLAGE STREET, YORKTOWN 


UNALTERED SINCE THE REVOLUTION 

despatched to him another letter frankly stating the weakness of the Continental 
army and again urging him to help them at this critical juncture with all the 
resources he could command. He also repeated his intimation that a favorable 
opportunity existed in the South. 

On the arrival of the French army General Washington undertook minor 
operations against British outposts but they were unsuccessful and the combined 
forces went into camp near White Plains to await developments. Washington’s 
appeal to the states for additional troops met with slight response and his army 
had less than half the number of men he hoped for, so that the assistance of the 
Comte de Grasse was imperatively necessary to any offensive measures. The 
long awaited assurance of this assistance arrived on the fourteenth of August 
and caused an immediate change in the plans of the allies. The admiral announced 
that he would sail from Santo Domingo on the thirteenth of August with from 
twenty-five to twenty-nine ships of war, and in addition to their crews, three 
thousand two hundred men from the garrison of the island and a liberal equip¬ 
ment of artillery of a most effective character; that he would proceed to Chesa¬ 
peake Bay, and that as he must return the men to the garrison in the fall it 
would be necessary to hasten to the utmost any proposed operations. He also 
announced that he had arranged to bring from Havana one million two hundred 
thousand livres in specie. On the receipt of this joyful intelligence the Com¬ 
mander-in-chief determined to move the combined armies to Virginia with all 
possible speed and his first care was to despatch a courier to the Marquis de La 
Fayette acquainting him with the Comte de Grasse’s intention and urging upon 
him the necessity of holding Lord Cornwallis in a position unfavorable to retreat. 
He left La Fayette to surmise the part the Northern army would take in the 
operations as it was unwise to risk the possibility of giving General Clinton an 
inkling of his contemplated withdrawal from New York. 

Leaving General Heath with a small force to protect the Hudson river he 
made a detour of New York with the remainder of the troops, about two thou¬ 
sand Continentals and four thousand French, to make it appear that he was 
moving on Staten Island and by this means deceived General Clinton until they 
were in a position to head directly for Philadelphia without fear of interception. 
While the army was marching to the head of the Elk General Washington went 

30 




















1 


[fill 


ahead to arrange for supplies and then, inviting the Comte de Rochambeau and 
the Marquis de Chastellux, his companions, to accompany him, he paid a short 
visit to Mount Vernon, which he had not seen since he left it six years before to 
take command of the Continental army at Cambridge. At Philadelphia they had 
received word of the arrival of the Comte de Grasse which was soon followed by 
information of the juncture of troops under Field Marshal the Marquis de Saint- 
Simon with those of General La Fayette at Williamsburg. 

Soon after his return to Portsmouth, Lord Cornwallis had embarked his 
troops, as directed by General Clinton, and was preparing to take them to New 
York when an order was received from his superior countermanding that for 
their return, and taking the General to task for having given up his ground on 
the James river, at the same time instructing him to take a favorable position 
between the York and the James where the fleet could be protected. As General 
Clinton had previously expressed a preference for Yorktown for such an estab¬ 
lishment, and as surveys convinced General Cornwallis of its superiority to Old 
Point Comfort, which had also been recommended, he set sail around the penin¬ 
sula and disembarking at that point began the erection of fortifications. To La 
Fayette, who watched their departure with interest, it appeared likely that Balti¬ 
more was the objective point of the British, and he hastily broke camp at Mal¬ 
vern Hill,- and, calling in the detachments which he had posted to prevent a 
retreat of the enemy to North Carolina, he started for Fredericksburg, but on 
reaching Richmond learned that the fleet had entered Yorktown Harbor and con¬ 
tented himself with stationing General Wayne near Westover, while he took a 
corresponding position on the Pamunkey river. From here he wrote to General 
Washington—whose courier had not yet reached him—that he was confident that 
a considerable change had been made in the plans of the British, and that while 
there were points of advantage in the location at Yorktown and opposite in 
Gloucester, it would result happily for the Americans if a French fleet should 
make its appearance at this time. He also wrote that he was exercising great 
caution as “His lordship plays so well that no blunder can be hoped from him to 
recover a bad step of ours.” His observation in regard to the fleet was based only 
on the general knowledge that one was likely to be in West Indian waters, and 
when a little later he learned that it was actually coming to his aid his spirits 
rose to a high pitch of enthusiasm. 

On the receipt of General Washington’s letter he communicated it to General 
Wayne and ordered him to proceed to Westover and prepare to cross to the south 
side of the James, where he would be in a position to embarrass any attempt of 
the British to reach North Carolina, and he then, in accordance with General 
Washington’s instructions, sent dispatches by Colonel Gimat his friend and former 
aide-de-camp, to Cape Henry to be delivered to the Comte de Grasse immediately 
upon his arrival. He had as yet no knowledge of the coming of General Wash¬ 
ington himself, but he was happy in the prospect of the substantial aid of the 
French fleet and the troops with it, and he was prepared to waive any question 
of his own rank as commander, to obviate possible friction in the union of the 
forces. Happily he was not called upon to do this, as the Comte de Saint-Simon 
though holding high rank in the French army, insisted on taking a place subordi¬ 
nate to the American commander, when, a few days later, the ships appeared, and 
the troops, which were immediately reembarked for the passage up the James, 
went into camp at Jamestown Island, under the protection of La Fayette’s guns. 
The latter’s triumph was now insured and the hard work and skillful strategy 
of the long and unequal campaign for the possession of Virginia were rewarded 
with the knowledge that Lord Cornwallis was securely confined in his ill chosen 
position. Since receiving General Washington’s dispatch, La Fayette’s chief anx¬ 
iety had been to prevent the British from making a sudden retreat to the south¬ 
ward, but now, thanks to the forces at his disposal, all danger of this was past 
and he recalled the outlying divisions that guarded the roads and passes, and 
moved his camp to a strong position at Williamsburg, but a few miles fiom the 
enemy. Early in the summer Lord Cornwallis had written to General Clinton, 
“The boy cannot escape me,” but now with the “boy” and his forces only a few 
hours’ march from his camp he felt unequal to attacking him, and after a recon- 
noissance settled down to the completion of defensive works at Yorktown and 
Gloucester, hoping - for reinforcements from New York to relieve his situation. 

31 

















GOV. NELSON’S HOUSE, YORKTOWN 


OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH AND BOMBARDED BY ORDER OF ITS OWNER 


The Comte de Grasse, out of regard for his obligation to return to San Do¬ 
mingo, wished to begin the attack at once, but in compliance with La Fayette’s 
earnest solicitation, and in deference to the latter’s superior knowledge of the 
situation, he consented to await the arrival of Generals Washington and Rocham- 
beau—whose movements were now known—and their armies. He had reached the 
Chesapeake on the thirtieth of August and on the fifth of September he was chal¬ 
lenged to battle by Admiral Graves, who had succeeded Admiral Arbuthnot at 
New York and who left there with his fleet in search of the Comte de Barras, 
who, in connection with the movement on Yorktown, had left Newport with his own 
ships and a large fleet of transports loaded with the supplies and heavy artillery 
of the Comte de Rochambeau, and whose departure had been discovered. The 
Comte de Grasse at once put to sea for greater freedom of action, and a battle 
ensued in which, as with that of Admirals des Touches and Arbuthnot, no deci¬ 
sive victory was obtained on either side, but which seriously disabled some of the 
British ships, one of which had to be abandoned and destroyed. Admiral Graves 
was forced to retire to New York, and the Comte de Grasse although still strong 
and in an advantageous position was content to return to Chesapeake Bay after 
waiting some days for a renewal of the engagement, as in view of the responsi¬ 
bilities of his position he wished to take no unnecessary risks. On reaching Cape 
Henry he found that the Comte de Barras had safely arrived while the opposing 
fleets were off the coast, having escaped Admiral Graves by a wide detour. This 
welcome reinforcement assured a sea power ample for the occasion, and the 
transports were at once unloaded and sent up the bay to the head of the Elk to 
bring down the waiting troops. 

General Washington, with the Comte de Rochambeau and the Marquis de 
Chastellux having resumed their journey from Mount Vernon, arrived at La 
Fayette’s headquarters at Williamsburg on the fourteenth of September. The 
reunion was momentous for the Marquis as he not only had the joy of being again 
with his beloved friend, but he was relieved from the strain and responsibility of 
his previous sole command, which, especially in its necessity of procuring provi¬ 
sions, had caused him much anxiety. The Comte de Grasse sent the “Queen 
Charlotte,” a luxurious craft which he had captured from the British, to bring 
General Washington and his companions to his flagship, and they spent several 

32 
































days there in pleasant and necessary intercourse, the highest military honors 
being paid to the Commander-in-chief on his arrival and departure. On his 
return to camp he found among his dispatches one announcing the arrival of 
Admiral Digby at New York with six ships of the line and additional troops. 
He at once sent this information to the Comte de Grasse, who, alarmed 
by this access of power and fearing the return of Admiral Graves with this rein¬ 
forcement, determined to abandon the Chesapeake which he feared would be 
blockaded, and await their possible arrival outside the Capes. This decision 
blasted instantly all hopes and plans that Washington had cherished since leav¬ 
ing New York, and changed the certainty of victory to the almost equal certainty 
of Cornwallis’ immediate escape by water to his former strong position at Ports¬ 
mouth. To prevent this crushing misfortune Washington despatched La Fayette 
to the flagship with a most strenuous appeal for a reconsideration of the decision 
urging the Marquis to use his influence to the utmost to the same end, and the 
messenger had the pleasure of returning to Williamsburg with the promise of the 
Admiral to remain and carry out the original plan. The allied troops had now 
arrived from the head of the Elk and joined those at Williamsburg, and imme¬ 
diate preparations were made for attacking the British position. 

On the twenty-eighth of September the American troops and their allies 
marched from Williamsburg and took up positions surrounding Yorktown. The 
following day they advanced to within firing distance of the enemy’s outer works, 
and on the morning of the thirtieth they entered these, the British having aban¬ 
doned them during the night and retreated to the central fortifications. The French 
ships were drawn up in the river opposite the town, and with the troops stead¬ 
ily closing around him, Lord Cornwallis’ position was becoming very serious and 
he hurriedly sent messengers to New York for aid. General Clinton had dis¬ 
covered too late the error of his orders and had hoped to relieve the post, but the 
best he could do was to promise to despatch a fleet under Admiral Digby, with 
five thousand land troops and ample provisions and supplies. Cornwallis believed 
that he could hold out until the arrival of this succor and it was arranged that on 
hearing heavy firing at the mouth of the bay, he should send up two columns of 
smoke to indicate his continued occupation of the town. This time however all 
elements combined for American success and the help he looked for came too late. 

With the Americans under La Fayette on the right, and the French troops 
on the left, Washington after a week of preparation fired the first gun of the siege 
on the morning of the seventh of October. The fire was kept up with increasing 
severity until the eleventh, when a second parallel, but three hundred yards from 
the enemy’s fortifications, was opened. The British had suffered severely, many 
of their guns being silenced, and on the fourteenth Washington determined to 
force two outlying redoubts by which the inner works were protected, and which 
in his hands would make the reduction of the latter easy. One of these was 
assigned to the American Light Infantry under La Fayette and the other to the 
regiments of Auvergne and Gatinos under the Baron de Viomenil. The detach¬ 
ments, with fixed bayonets, charged simultaneously in the face of a destructive 
volley, and in a few minutes the Americans, led by the gallant Lieutenant Colonel 
Alexander Hamilton, had scaled the parapet and taken their redoubt, the British 
throwing down their arms as the Americans entered. The French commander 
had expressed a belief that only his troops would succeed in the undertaking, 
and as he was not yet in possession of his redoubt. La Fayette, jealous of Amer¬ 
ican valor, immediately tendered his assistance, but the Baron answered for the 
unaided ability of his men and a little later announced his similar victory. Two 
days later the British, made desperate by the destructive fire from these points, 
attempted to regain the redoubt held by the French, but were repulsed and driven 
back to their works with great loss, and as a last resort Lord Cornwallis under¬ 
took, under cover of darkness, to remove his troops to Gloucester Point. A rising 
storm defeated this purpose—of doubtful merit at the best and he was obliged 
to bring back the few who had reached the other side, and resign himself to the 
inevitable end. On the seventeenth of October he opened his negotiations for 
surrender, and on the next day, the articles, which, at La Fayette s suggestion, 
were the same as those imposed on General Lincoln at Charleston, were signed. 
On the nineteenth the British troops, resplendent in new uniforms, marched out 
between the French and Americans drawn up in lines, and laid down their arms, 

33 

















THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS’ ARMY, YORKTOWN, OCT. 19, 1781 

FROM THE PAINTING BY TURNBULL, IN THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON 


their bands playing “The World Turned Upside Down,” a then popular air. 
Lord Cornwallis kept his tent, giving illness as an excuse, and sent his apologies 
by General O’Hara, who delivered his sword to General Lincoln. 

Although General Clinton still held New York and had posts at Charleston 
and Wilmington, Cornwallis’ surrender was recognized as the virtual end of the 
struggle. General Washington, hoping to regain the Carolinas while his troops 
were flushed with victory, desired the cooperation of the Comte de Grasse in the 
reduction of Charleston, or at least the aid of his ships to transport reinforce¬ 
ments under La Fayette to General Greene, but satisfied that he had accomplished 
all that should be required of him under the circumstances of his visit to the 
American coast, the French Admiral felt himself obliged to deny this request, 
and La Fayette, seeing no further opportunity for active service, obtained General 
Washington’s permission to visit Philadelphia and petition Congress for leave to 
return to France to spend the winter. This request was immediately granted 
and resolutions were passed eulogizing his services in Virginia and accrediting 
him to the Ministers at Versailles as a qualified representative of the United 
States in matters pertaining to its needs. He was also made the bearer of a letter 
to King Louis XVI, and the frigate “Alliance” was again designated to convey him 
across the Atlantic. He sailed from Boston on the twenty-third of December, 
1781, and after a very short voyage landed in France, where the account of his 
triumph had preceded him and he was received with high honors. 

The youth whose high resolution had prevailed over royal bans, had, by 
force of his manliness and proved abilities, passed from indulgent recognition 
in the American army to enduring fame in its history, and gained the irrequit- 
able affection of the people of his adopted country. His expected return to 
service under Washington was deferred at the request of Franklin, who greatly 
appreciated his help in securing the many benefits still required of France, and 
the termination of the war found him thus engaged. 

Firmly established in the esteem and affection of all classes in his native 
land, he settled down to the quiet joys of his family life, little knowing how soon 
these were to give place to the turbulence and anarchy, separation and bereave¬ 
ment of the yet unheralded French Revolution. Before this second era of his life 
however, he crossed the ocean once more to visit his beloved friend General Wash¬ 
ington, with whom he spent some weeks at Mount Vernon in the fall of 1784, and 
then, after a tour of a few of the scenes of his activities, he bade him a final fare¬ 
well and sailed from Boston on his return to France. 

34 

































PRESENTED TO LA FAYETTE BY CONGRESS 


At an age when young men customarily enter upon active life, La Fayette 
returned to the affairs of his native country, mature in experience and flattered 
with exceptional distinction. The monarchy of France, undermined by the ex¬ 
cesses of three reigns, though still exhibiting the habitual appearance of strength, 
tottered on the verge of a revolutionary abyss. Excessive taxation and despotic 
rule exhausted and prostrated the producing classes and raised discontent almost 
to resistance, while the revenue thus extorted was inadequate to meet the require¬ 
ments of national obligations and royal extravagance. Louis XVI and his luxu¬ 
rious court lived only for display and private gratification, while one after another, 
ministers of finance sought in vain to supply their ever increasing demands. The 
American Revolution, so generously aided, had drained the treasury to the danger 
point and the only hope of recuperation lay in wise administration and radical 
economy. The former was available and the latter had been repeatedly urged 
but such was the influence of the nobles whose patronage was menaced that no 
headway could be made in this direction, and added taxation of the people was the 
only resource applauded. 

Turgot, whose wise reforms were unpalatable, was succeeded by Necker, who 
also brought skill and high purpose to his office and inspired confidence in the 
people. He in turn was forced to give way to M. de Calonne, who revived an 
appearance of prosperity by negotiating ruinous loans, but who, toward the end 
of 1786, was obliged to announce the virtual bankruptcy of France, and realizing 
that retrenchment was imperative, urged the King to call together an Assembly 
of Notables in the hope that this body could and would impose such measures. 
La Fayette, although in disfavor with many of his class because of his liberal 
tendencies, was made a member of the body thus instituted and proved its most 
potent influence. The Assembly recommended minor reforms and having inves¬ 
tigated Calonne’s record, secured his dismissal, but it could not be brought to 
indorse the pleas of La Fayette for the abolition of wasteful ceremonies and 
patronage, and the equitable distribution of taxation. Realizing the futility of 
its further deliberation he startled the Assembly and the Court by calling for the 
convocation of the States General — a memory of a less enthralled France of 
nearly two hundred years before. Louis agreed to do this and named the year 
1792 for the inauguration, hoping that in the meantime public confidence would 
be restored and that the Government would then be in a strong position, but 
dissatisfaction continued and he was obliged to issue the summons for May, 1789. 
This was in thought and deed the actual beginning of the revolution that engulfed 
France in the most barbaric tumult of destruction that history has recorded. La 
Fayette looked forward to radical changes in the system of government but he 
believed that these would come peaceably as a result of philosophic influences, 
and with his innate and cultivated love of liberty he placed himself in the fore¬ 
front of every movement to secure its blessings for his countrymen. 

At the appointed time deputies to the number of twelve hundred, represent¬ 
ing the nobility, the clergy, and the people—or Third Estate—elected by their 
peers after an exciting campaign, assembled at the church of Notre Dame de 
Paris, and the next day at Versailles were received by the King and addressed 
by Necker, reinstated Minister of Finance. The adoption of methods of proce¬ 
dure occupied several weeks and but for the insistence of the Third Estate upon 
its right, numerical and political, to dominate and constitute the body parlia¬ 
mentary, effective organization would have been impossible as the Nobility and 
Clergy, though separately less in number, claimed the right to vote as bodies 
which thus combined could defeat the people. In the end, however, they were 
obliged to accept the organization of the Third Estate and vote as individuals. 

35 











La Fayette had been elected to represent the nobles of Auvergne and he found 
himself in an anomalous position as in this contest his sympathies were with the 
people. While he was considering the resigning of his seat to seek election to 
the Commons, his dilemma was solved by a royal order commanding the Nobles 
and Clergy, many of whom had already gone over to the dominant body, to recede 
from their position and join the popular organization. This ascendency of the 
people was reflected by rioting at Paris and Versailles, and the impending civil 
conflict was hastened by the concentration of the King’s troops to quell these 
disturbances. The first and most important act of the Assembly was the con¬ 
sideration of a “Declaration of Rights’’ introduced by La Fayette which formu¬ 
lated on a high and enlightened plane the rights and dues of the people, and 
which became the basis of subsequent enactments. 

Notwithstanding his ambition to lead in the parliamentary emancipation of 
his countrymen, which was assured by his being elected Vice-President of the 
“States General,” La Fayette was destined for other and more strenuous activi¬ 
ties and he was soon called from the Assembly to the command of a body of 
Militia called the National Guard, organized to subdue the more violent 
elements of the populace which the royal troops were unable to control. In this 
position, with the rapidly growing tendency toward anarchy, he soon became the 
most prominent figure of the revolution, and, until the final upheaval, when, in¬ 
toxicated with power the ascendent terrorists threw off all restraint and shed 
noble blood in rivers, he was the only one capable of standing effectively between 
royalty and the clamoring mob. 

The necessity for this organization was made manifest by the uprising at 
Paris which followed the dismissal of Necker from the Ministry to which he had 
been returned to gratify the people. His plans were too radical for the Court, 
and with other ministers favorable to the popular interests he was requested to 
secretly depart. The news of this and the presence of German troops, which 
the King had brought to overawe malcontents incited them to riot, to quell which 
the Provost of Merchants, the nearest to recognized authority, was called on to 
enroll a civic guard which armed itself from the public arsenals and later under 
the badge of the tricolor proposed by La Fayette, became the National Guard. 
The opening day of this enrollment was signalized by a demonstration around 
the hated Bastile, the hitherto impregnable prison where for centuries had lan¬ 
guished justly or unjustly the offenders of royalty. Throughout the night the 
mob continued to gather and on the morning following, the memorable four¬ 
teenth of July, began an attack which late in the afternoon compelled its surren¬ 
der. Its fall and demolition symbolized the extinguishment of royal power and 
oppression, and its anniversary has become the chief national holiday of France. 

The task that La Fayette found awaiting him was difficult almost to the 
point of discouragement. The line between mob domination and the supremacy 
of his motley National Guard was so precarious and doubtful that order and dis¬ 
cipline were matters of passing impulse and influence, sometimes yielding to his 
exhortations and again surging uncontrollably in an opposite course. With Jean 
Sylvain Bailly, formerly president of the Assembly, now appointed Mayor of 
Paris, he shared authority transcending that of the King, whom indeed it was 
given him later to direct and eventually to arrest. 

In the States General the Comte de Mirabeau led the debate and strove for 
the enactment of a constitution on which to base a reformed political system, 
while in the faubourgs and the “Palais Royal”—a popular forum—“Sanscullotism” 
banded for pillage and destruction. Destitution and hunger are grievances on 
which a mob can speedily be raised and a throng of determined women moved 
by these incentives, gathered at the Hotel de Ville on the fifth of October, 1789, 
and routing a company of the National Guard took possession of the building. 
To get them out it was proposed, insincerely, to lead them to Versailles, and a 
citizen named Maillard seized a drum and led the way, followed by the “Menads” 
who enlisted or impressed every member of their sex, of high or low degree, who 
came upon the scene, and not to be swerved from their course straggled in a noisy 
and ever increasing horde—followed by sympathizers of every description—over 
the fifteen miles of muddy road in a drizzling rain, to the royal palace where they 
demanded bread. La Fayette, starting some hours afterward, arrived about mid¬ 
night with his National Guard, which from fear of its loyalty under such con- 

36 
















ditions he had kept in Paris until 
the King’s danger became evident. 
He reassured Louis and the As¬ 
sembly, which was still in session, 
and about five o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing retired for a short rest having 
been without sleep for twenty- 
four hours. He had hardly lain 
down when he was recalled to the 
palace by a conflict which was pre¬ 
cipitated between a party of ma¬ 
rauders and the Life Guards, and 
which, but for his presence and the 
services of the National Guards, 
would have resulted disastrously 
for the royal family, whose apart¬ 
ments were invaded by a mob. 
Later in the day he gave public 
evidence of the devotion to the 
King and Queen, and his popu¬ 
larity caused them to be received 
with cheers, the people dispersing 
on his assurance that they would 
accompany him to Paris. Under 
his escort they were taken to the 
Tuileries, followed peaceably by a 
procession of one hundred thou¬ 
sand, and although no personal 
restraint was as yet exercised 
they were from that time virtu¬ 
ally prisoners. 

The Due d’Orleans, cousin of 


CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME DE PARIS 

IN WHICH THE STATES-GEN ERAL CONVENED, MAY 4,1739 

Louis XVI, dissolute of character and a recognized enemy of the King, was sus¬ 
pected of complicity in the attack at Versailles and w r as forced to retire to England 
by La Fayette, whom all parties acknowledged as the savior of the royal family. 
Following the Insurrection of Women, the Assembly—which to be near the King 
had transferred its place of meeting to one of the halls of the Tuileries—while 
enacting the constitution abolished lettres de cachet, an arbitrary form of arrest, 
proclaimed ecclesiastical estates confiscated to the Government, and on the basis 
of this property issued eight hundred million francs in paper assignats. This 
reckless expedient caused the final resignation of Necker, who in response to pop¬ 
ular clamor had been again recalled to the Ministry of Finance. Religious orders 
w r ere suppressed, taxes on salt and corn repealed, jury trial instituted, and all 
titles of nobility abolished, with which last decree La Fayette, who had urged its 
adoption, consistently complied although in later years other regimes brought a 
general return to monarchial titles. 

At this time a new menace to rational administration made its appearance in 
the Rue St. Honore where a club called the Jacobins, from the religious order 
whose convent they occupied, gathered nightly to the number of a thousand or 
more and promulgated incendiary doctrines. Its membership included the most 
radical and unprincipled leaders in the Assembly, and to counteract its effects 
La Fayette organized an association called the Feuillans or Moderates, which for 
upwards of a year and a half held it materially in check, but which was then dis¬ 
persed by the flight of a majority of its members during the events leading to the 
Reign of Terror emanating from its rival. 

To fittingly celebrate the anniversary of the taking of the Bastile and thereby 
cement the bonds of patriotism and brotherhood, a grand fete was planned for 
the fourteenth of July, 1790, when all National Authorities should swear allegiance 
“to the King, to Law and to the Nation.” By the voluntary labor of the inhabit¬ 
ants of Paris of both sexes and all ages and ranks, the Champ de Mars, a spa¬ 
cious plain set apart for military manoeuvres, was transformed to an immense am¬ 
phitheater with an impressive altar and festooned colonnades and arches. On the 


































































HEADQUARTERS OF THE JACOBIN SOCIETY 


THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE REIGN OF TERROR 

morning of the festival, La Fayette, who was master of ceremonies by virtue of 
the temporary command of the National Guard of France delegated to him by the 
King, arrived at the head of a procession of sixty thousand federalists, soldiers 
and deputies, and after the celebration of mass by the Bishop of Autun and three 
hundred priests, amid the booming of cannon, he descended from his horse and 
presenting himself at the throne received from the King the form of the oath, 
which he carried to the National Altar and pronounced to the assembly of five 
hundred thousand persons, his words echoed by the Army, the President of the 
National Assembly, the Deputies and the King. “Liberty, Equality, and Frater¬ 
nity” reigned throughout the day and night, and promised a future free from 
strife and intrigue, but the sun of another day brought its paramount emotions 
submerging the glorious federation in new and greater animosities. 

On the twenty-eighth of the following February a mob from the Faubourg 
Saint Antoine, the most lawless district of Paris, attacked the prison at Vin¬ 
cennes under the leadership of Santerre, a brewer subsequently to become more 
ignobly prominent. Before they succeeded in liberating the prisoners La Fayette 
arrived and put them to rout. While he was thus occupied he was summoned to 
the Palace of the Tuileries, some five miles distant, where it had been discovered 
by the National Guard that all the dependents of the King, rallying as by arrange¬ 
ment, were armed with daggers. It probably was to defend the King should the 
Saint Antoine mob descend on the Tuileries that this arrangement was made, 
but the Guards professed to believe it a conspiracy to abduct Louis, and before 
the return of La Fayette they had disarmed and violently ejected the courtiers. 

Following closely upon these alarms the National Assembly and the true 
cause of the people lost an heroic figure whose influence for good was second 
only to La Fayette’s. This was the Comte de Mirabeau, whose motives were often 
questioned, whose methods were resented, and whose private character was 
assailed, but whose public acts were the embodiment of strength and wisdom, a 
force and a balance on occasion, and whose continued activity would have tem¬ 
pered Jacobinism. He died on the second of April, 1791, and was buried on the 
fourth, amid general and sincere mourning and demonstration. 

Toward the middle of this month the announcement was made that the King 
for the benefit of his health would pass the Easter season at Saint Cloud, the real 

38 



































































THE STORMING OF THE BASTILE, JULY 14, 1789 

ITS FALL AND DEMOLITION WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF THE FRENCH 

REVOLUTION 

reason of his excursion being his desire to receive the ministration of a priest 
not sworn to the new civil orders, which, in common with many devout Catholics, 
he regarded as an infringement on moral and ecclesiastical rights. On the eight¬ 
eenth of April, in accordance with this plan he started in his state carriage but 
was immediately stopped by a crowd that blocked his way. La Fayette hastened 
to the scene, and, appreciating the delicacy of his motives, offered to open a 
passage at any cost, but the King would not permit the attempt, and leaving the 
carriage returned to the palace. The suspicion that the King was about to flee, 
though unjust on this occasion, was however warranted, and preparations were 
then making for the event. On the evening of the twenty-first of June the royal 
family with trusted attendants left the Palace of the Tuileries and in several 
closed carriages were carried northward where the support of the army defending 
the frontier was depended upon. The undertaking was badly managed and at 
Varennes the heavy coach containing the King and Queen was blocked by an 
obstructed bridge which suspicious town officials, warned by intelligence now sent 
broadcast, had piled with wagons and lumber. Close by, on the other side 
of the bridge, was an advance guard of the army, sent to meet the ref¬ 
ugees, but its commander, a son of General Broglie, one of the King’s most 
trusted officers, had, owing to the lateness of the hour, ceased to look for them, 
and retired for the night. Thus detained, where deliverance was looked for, the 
party was overtaken and arrested soon afterward by a company of National 
Guards and escorted back ignominiously to Paris to be more closely guarded until, 
a year later, after a few months’ freedom following the acceptance of the con¬ 
stitution they were imprisoned in the Temple, from whence after predetermined 
trials they issued to the guillotine—Louis XVI on the twenty-first of January, 
1793, and Marie Antoinette on the sixteenth of the next October. 

Early in September, 1791, after the Federation and the flight to Varennes, 
the long-looked-for Constitution was completed and accepted by the King, and 
the Constituent Assembly—formerly the States General—having finished its work 
terminated its sittings and dissolved. Its last acts decreed the King exempt from 
punishment for his attempted flight, and, on the initiative of La Fayette, author¬ 
ized the freeing of all prisoners held for offenses growing out of the Revolution. 
The proposal to absolve the King from responsibility for his flight aroused bitter 

39 











































antagonism from the Jaco¬ 
bins, and before it was en¬ 
acted a petition to the Assem¬ 
bly urging his dethronement 
was started on the altar at 
the Champ de Mars and 
signed by a multitude of Jaco¬ 
bin sympathizers, who having 
created a disturbance were 
fired upon and dispersed, sev¬ 
eral being killed—by the Na¬ 
tional Guards under La Fay¬ 
ette and by the authority of 
Mayor Bailly, who proclaimed 
them guilty of disorderly con¬ 
duct. With the dissolution of 
the Constituent Assembly, La 
Fayette resigned his com¬ 
mand of the National Guards, 
which he avowedly held only 
to preserve order until the 
Constitution should be estab¬ 
lished, and retired to his home 
in Chavaniac taking with him 
a sword forged from bolts of 
the Bastile and presented as 
a token of the esteem of his 
Guards. With all others of the 
better classes he believed the 

settle"/and‘he looked forward NATIONAL FEDERATION IN CHAMP DE MARS 

to peace at his country estate. July 14, 1790 

The Constitution from which so much was expected failed unmistakably, 
however, to fulfill its mission and the new Legislative Assembly elected under it 
lacked the capacity of its predecessor, whose members had specifically decreed 
that none of their number should be eligible to membership in the new body. 
Internal troubles appeared and multiplied, and early in 1792 these were aug¬ 
mented by a declaration of war against Austria. This brought La Fayette again 
to the front, as at the request of the King he was appointed to command the 
Army of the Center, one of three divisions of the French forces, with headquar¬ 
ters at Maubeuge, in Flanders near the Prussian frontier. From his camp at 
this place he wrote to the Assembly, in part as follows, denouncing the instigators 
of the high-handed violences which were rending his country:—“Can you dis¬ 
semble even to yourselves, that a faction (and to avoid all vague denunciation), 
the Jacobin faction, have caused all these disorders? It is that which I boldly 
accuse—organized like a separate empire in the metropolis, and in its affiliated 
societies, blindly directed by some ambitious leaders, this sect forms a corporation 
entirely distinct in the midst of the French people, whose powers it usurps by 
tyrannizing over its representatives and constituted authorities.” The Jacobins, 
in consternation at this arraignment, declared the letter to be forged, on which 
La Fayette left his army and appeared at the bar of the Assembly to repeat with 
emphasis his accusations and plead for the respect and authority guaranteed 
the King by the Constitution. In this he was too late, as a mob which invaded 
the Tuileries on the twentieth of June on the pretext of petitioning the King to 
withdraw his vetoes of two revolutionary decrees, had hopelessly violated the 
dignity of the royal presence and foreshadowed the repression and dethronement 
soon to follow. Realizing that the Constitution was practically overthrown, La 
Fayette, who still enlisted an ardent following, planned to remove the royal family 
to the frontier, pledging the protection of his army, but the King with fatal per¬ 
versity refused his good offices and he reluctantly returned to his command. 

Insurrection had now infected outlying districts and a body of its votaries 
to the number of five hundred marched from Marseilles and were received as 

40 

























heroes in Paris on the eve of the anniversary of the Federation, which was re¬ 
peated in a mockery of its former spontaneity. Frightened by La Fayette’s 
denunciation, the Jacobins endeavored to secure his impeachment by the Assem¬ 
bly but were outvoted two to one and were forced to adopt more radical measures 
to overthrow the Moderates who still cherished the Constitution in name. They 
had for weeks sought in vain for some apparent provocation by the Court which 
could serve as a rallying cry for the Faubourgs, and crystallize insurrection that 
would dethrone the King. The supporters of La Fayette were now insulted with¬ 
out and within the Assembly, and under the leadership of George Jacques Danton, 
who exhorted the people to rise and save themselves from external and internal 
enemies, an uprising was accomplished which, invading the Tuileries, forced the 
King to seek protection of the Assembly, and massacred the valiant Swiss, who 
alone of all his constitutional defenders had remained loyal and efficient until his 
subservience to his dictators caused him to order them to cease resistance. The 
King was declared dethroned, and with his family was imprisoned in the Temple, 
while the Court and the Constitutionalists sought safety in flight. Aristocrats 
active and passive, for no reason but their presumed sympathy with royalty, were 
by hundreds thrown into prison, many to be delivered only when the tumbrels car¬ 
ried them to the guillotine under the decrees of the September tribunals. 

When the intentions of the revolutionists were obvious, La Fayette had sent 
messengers to again implore the King to avail himself of the protection of the 
army, but he was once more rebuffed and his plan becoming known he was de¬ 
nounced as a traitor and enemy of the people. Under the style of the Commune 
of August 10th the Jacobins usurped the government of Paris, and still fearing La 
Fayette’s popularity sent commissioners to conciliate him with offers of high 
office if he would ally himself to their cause, but on their arrival at Sedan he 
caused them to be arrested and imprisoned, paying no heed to their overtures. 
He renewed his army’s oath of fidelity to the Constitution but deputies from Paris 
soon corrupted it, and realizing that further effort was useless he gathered a few 
of his most intimate friends and set out for Belgium from whence he could make 
his way to England or America. To do this they were obliged to cross the path 
of the Austrian army, to which they had recently been opposed, and one of the 
party went to headquarters to obtain the necessary passports. These would have 
been immediately forthcoming but for the fact that the presence of La Fayette 
was noted, and as he was regarded by foreign courts as the instigator of the Revo¬ 
lution the whole party was arrested and taken to the fortress of Wesel where the 
rigors of the confinement in a damp cell prostrated their leader. He was told that 
his condition would be ameliorated if he would give information to aid the Aus¬ 
trians, but as he spurned this offer he was treated with greater severity. After 
some months at Wesel the prisoners were transferred to Magdebourg, where 
they were placed in dungeons and debarred a sight of the sky or each other for 
nearly six months, when, it being evident that life could not be maintained under 
such conditions, they were given a daily airing in the court yard. 

While La Fayette languished in prison, events moved rapidly in France. Suc¬ 
cessively lower elements of Jacobinism gained control through the imprisonment 
or execution of former leaders. The King and Queen were executed, Marat, one 
of the most venomous and unprincipled instigators of anarchy, was assassinated 
by virtuous Charlotte Corday; Danton was guillotined to make way for Hebert, 
and he in turn to elevate Robespierre. The war of La Vendee, in southern 
France, engaged hundreds of thousands, and the guillotine and even shooting 
being inadequate to dispose of the prisoners of the revolutionists, thousands 
were drowned, men, women and children together, penned in hulks that were sent 
to the bottom of the Loire. Madame de La Fayette and her children were arrested 
and would have been executed but for the intervention of Gouverneur Morris, 
American Minister to France, who also advanced a large sum of money to relieve 
the distress of the family, many of whose estates were confiscated and whose 
revenue was cut off. The Marechale de Noailles, grandmother of Madame de La 
Fayette, the Duchess d’Ayen her mother, and the Vicomtesse de Noailles were car¬ 
ried to the guillotine together, and the loss of these beloved intimates added 

greatly to her other misfortunes. . 

With the tide of war favoring the French against the Prussians and Aus¬ 
trians it was deemed wise by the coalition to remove La Fayette to Austrian 

41 


/ 
















territory, and he was taken to Olmiitz where his hardships were further increased 
and he was told that his identity would be forever lost in a prison number by 
which he would be designated in all communications and records, as he was re¬ 
garded as most dangerous to monarchial institutions and it was desired to reduce 
him to political if not actual death. During these years of imprisonment his 
friends in Europe and America petitioned frequently for his release without 
other effect than to further convince his captors of his importance to the cause 
they sought to crush. One of his old friends, however, the Comte Lally-Tollendal, 
made the acquaintance in London of Dr. Erick Bollman, a Hanoverian who had 
aided in the escape of other French prisoners, and Dr. Bollman, who was an en¬ 
thusiastic admirer of La Fayette, agreed to undertake his release. 

In the autumn of 1794, some six months after the General had been taken 
to Olmiitz, Dr. Bollmann, having learned that important personages were confined 
in this prison, went there and by means of a professional acquaintance with the 
physician who attended him, he conveyed to La Fayette information of his plan 
of rescue. With Dr. Bollmann was associated Francis Kinlock Huger, a son of 
Col. Benjamin Huger who had first received La Fayette on his arrival in America. 
They learned that owing to his low state of health the prisoner was taken each 
day on a short drive under guard, and they planned to intercept his carriage, and 
taking him by force to carry him hastily to the town of Hoff, where a carriage 
would be stationed to bear him out of the country. To avoid suspicion the execu¬ 
tion of this arrangement was delayed for some months, during which Dr. Boll¬ 
mann visited Vienna, but eventually everything was ready, and as La Fayette 
and a guard were walking behind the carriage on a country road, the attendant 
was overpowered and La Fayette placed on horseback with a hurried direction in 
English from young Huger, to go to Hoff. The guards in the carriage, instead 
of assisting their fellow, drove rapidly away and but for the escape of one of the 
conspirators’ horses during the attack all would undoubtedly have been well. As 
only two horses could be brought, it was some time before the rescuers could re¬ 
cover this one and proceed to Hoff, and on their arrival they found no trace of 
the fugitive. The attempt had therefore failed 
and it was learned afterward, that, in the haste 
of the admonition, La Fayette had understood 
that he was to go off and had taken a road which 
eventually brought him to the village of Jagers- 
dorff, where he was detained as a suspicious per¬ 
son, and two days later carried back to Olmiitz. 

Huger and Dr. Bollmann were very soon appre¬ 
hended and they were held in prison, chained to 
the walls of their cells, for eight months, with 
sentence of death threatened, when they were 
released through the intercession of the Count 
Metrowsky, a generous nobleman living near the 
prison, whom they had never seen but whose 
sympathies were aroused by their predicament. 

Madame de La Fayette had been again ar¬ 
rested at her home at Chavaniac and carried to 
Paris to await execution, when the counter¬ 
revolution of “Thermidor,” the July of the new 
style, sent the dreaded Robespierre to the guillo¬ 
tine to which he had consigned so many, and the 
Jacobins being finally deposed in the revulsion of 
popular feeling, their prisoners were generally 
released; Madame de La Fayette did not imme¬ 
diately profit by this delivery, however, and it 
was some months before she was freed, and then 
only through the efforts of the American Minis¬ 
ter. Distracted by her afflictions and her in¬ 
ability to communicate with her husband, she 
determined to go to Austria and plead in his be¬ 
half. She took her two daughters, her son George 
Washington La Fayette having Seen sent to 

42 



KEY OF THE BASTILE 
Presented to Washington by La Fayette 
Now at Mount Vernon. Reproduced 
by permission 










































































the care of friends in America, 
and made the journey to Vienna 
by way of Hamburg, where she 
was aided by the American con¬ 
sul, Mr. John Parish, who gave 
her passports under the name of 
Madame Motier of Hartford, 
Connecticut. Through the influ¬ 
ence of the Prince de Rosenberg, 
a family friend, she was received 
by the Emperor, who declared it 
impossible to liberate her hus¬ 
band but who granted her request 
to be allowed, with her children, 
to share his captivity. She there¬ 
fore went at once to Olmiitz 
and, without premonition, the 
doors of his cell opened and he 
beheld those whose continued ex¬ 
istence was his dearest hope, but 
whom he feared he should never 
again be permitted to see. For 
two years the family were thus 
together, Madame de La Fayette 
and the children occupying an 
adjoining cell and spending much 
of each day with the General, 
whose health and spirits greatly 
improved in their company. 
Madame de La Fayette suffered 
extremely however from the confinement and neglect of the prison, and after 
having been there nearly a year begged permission to go to Vienna for the 
benefit of her health, but on being informed that she might depart never 
to return, she resigned her considerations of personal welfare for the happiness 
of her husband, and remained with him until in September, 1797, they, with his 
companions in the flight from Maubeuge, were released on the demand of Napo- 

I leon Bonaparte, who at the head of the French army had driven the Prussians 
from his adopted land and now menaced Vienna while dictating a treaty, one of 
the most imperative and strenuously resisted provisions of which was this de¬ 
livery of Frenchmen who were even then unacceptable to France. This con¬ 
sideration was largely brought about by violent agitation of the matter in England 
where prominent generals and members of Parliament, his former enemies, united 
in his behalf under the spur of newspaper articles written by a French sympa¬ 
thizer. His friend Charles Fox appealed to the House of Commons in behalf of 
‘‘that noble character, which will flourish in the annals of the world, and live in 
the veneration of posterity, when kings and the crowns they wear will be no more 
regarded than the dust to which they must return.” 

For two years after his release La Fayette lived in exile in the Netherlands, 
his wife latterly returning to France to seek in their depleted estates relief from 
the financial embarrassment in which they now found themselves. In these straits 
two bequests from unknown admirers, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, 
were most happily received and provided amply until his own affairs were com¬ 
posed. Late in the fall of 1799 Napoleon, returning unexpectedly from Egypt, 
seized the government from the Directory and proclaimed himself First Consul 
on the foundation of the revolution of 1789; La Fayette took this proclamation lit¬ 
erally and conceiving himself safe in France, returned at once, but in so doing 
he incurred the enmity of the dictator, who feared that the great Constitutionalist, 
through his public spirit and popularity, would endanger his plans for the subver¬ 
sion of authority, of which the protestation of republicanism was but a trans¬ 
parent cloak. La Fayette had no desire, however, to again enter the struggle, 
and aside from the giving of advice when sought, and holding himself in readi¬ 
ness to rejoin the army if his services should be required, he took little part in 

43 



/ 



























THE CHATEAU LA GRANGE: LA BRIE, NEAR PARIS 


LA FAYETTE’S LATER HOME, HIS ONLY REMAINING ESTATE AFTER THE CONFISCATIONS 

OF THE REVOLUTION 


affairs, and retired to the tranquillity of his wife’s estate of La Grange, which was 
to be the home of his declining years. Here he devoted himself to retrieving in a 
small way his scattered fortunes, and paying, as he was able, the debts incurred by 
loans to his family while he was in prison. Agriculture was his fixed occupation, 
and charity and intercourse with friends his cherished pleasures. Many illus¬ 
trious visitors from other lands made the pilgrimage to La Grange to renew treas¬ 
ured acquaintance, or to testify their respect for his noble character. Napoleon 
held him in high personal regard, though constantly fearing the possibilities of his 
popularity and unwavering patriotism, and he sought in many ways to enlist him 
in his cause, but without avail. La Fayette hoped for a Napoleon without self¬ 
ishness, but he clearly saw that the great General’s power would be used for his 
own aggrandizement, and in disappointment he remained silent and aloof. 

From this retirement he emerged to become a member of the Representative 
Assembly when Napoleon, returning from Elba, reestablished himself on the 
throne and palliated his usurpation with constitutional professions. La Fayette 
was one of a committee of five who endeavored to prevent his reaccession, and 
at the end of the turbulent Hundred Days it was he who forced Napoleon’s abdi¬ 
cation. For the last time, after long retirement, he lent his influence in national 
affairs in the revolution of 1830, when in the sanguinary outburst against 
Charles X, he was called to Paris and persuaded to accept the command of the 
National Guard, for which he was borne to the Hotel de Ville on the shoulders of 
his friends. After a few days of bitter struggle Louis Philippe was set upon the 
throne, to be coldly received by the assembled people until La Fayette became his 
sponsor, and then enthusiastically applauded. He remained in reluctant com¬ 
mand of the National Guard, which was reorganized soon afterward, and ren¬ 
dered indispensable service, until, on the return of settled conditions he 
tendered his resignation, which was readily accepted by the distrustful monarch 
who viewed with repugnance his lieutenant’s tremendous popularity. 

Not long after his retirement to La Grange La Fayette had the misfortune 
to slip on the ice while visiting the Ministry of Marine in Paris, and his hip was 
broken in the fall. He elected to endure the tortures of a newly invented appa¬ 
ratus for preventing the shortening of the leg in such cases, and for weeks en¬ 
dured his sufferings with such fortitude that the attending physicians were not 


44 







































































































aware that the bandages were much too tight, and on the removal of these the 
muscles were found to be so mutilated that further operations were required, and 
it was feared that amputation would be necessary. He recovered however with 
but slight permanent lameness. 

His children married and made their home with him, and their children 
brightened the numerous circle at the chateau. The privations of his meager 
income were cheerfully borne by all, and were chiefly regretted because of the 


limits which were imposed upon their habits of charity, which nevertheless con- 

i • 1 j i i i • i i i • i i -| • i i mi i a ii /-*» 


tinued to be a blessing to their humble neighbors. The great sorrow of the Gen¬ 
eral’s life came upon him on Christmas eve, 1807, when Madame de La Fayette 
passed away. She had never been able to eradicate from her system blood poison 
which developed in the prison of Olmiitz, and now at the age of forty-seven it 
prostrated and overwhelmed her. While racked with pain and wasting from 
innumerable eruptions she maintained the buoyant and unselfish spirit that was 
her heritage and distinction, and the parting from her husband, as revealed in his 
tender tribute to her virtues, most fittingly and passionately crowned a life of 
love and devotion. While accepting his bereavement with the calmness and res¬ 
ignation characteristic of earlier adversities, he never ceased to mourn his loss, 
and devoted a portion of each morning to contemplation of her portrait, which he 

I wore in a locket hanging from his neck. On the gold back of this were engraved 
these, among her last words to him: “Je vous fus done une douce compagne, eh 
bien! benissez moi!” 

I There was yet reserved for him however a pleasure that it is given to few 

to enjoy, that of visiting in its assured prosperity a nation whose beginning he 
had labored for. In accordance with a resolution of Congress he was invited by 
President Monroe early in 1824 to visit the United States as a guest of the nation. 
The invitation placed a man-of-war at his disposal for the voyage, but he mod¬ 
estly declined this honor, and with his son and M. Levasseur, his secretary, sailed 
on the American ship “Cadmus” from Havre, July thirteenth of that year, and 
arrived at Staten Island on the sixteenth of August. 

Welcomed with every conceivable honor, he traversed, for more than a year, 
the length and breadth of the country, sustaining with hearty joy and remarkable 
vigor an ovation unabated from his landing at New York to his embarkation 
from the same port. Particularly affecting were his reunions with those of his old 
comrades whom the ravages of time had spared, and his pilgrimage to the tomb 
of Washington at Mount Vernon; while, on the battlefields of other days he lived 

•ly consecration to liberty. From New York, Boston 
t, reached by way of New Haven, New London and 
reception there and a visit to Harvard College, he 
:h, New Hampshire, stopping at Salem and Newbury- 
2 ident occurred which is thus reported in the New- 
ber third, 1824:— 

of the Continental army who were presented to the 
;ronger title to notice than Mr. Daniel Foster who is 

i • « -l • . I -I • i T T7'« 



the only man in this town belonging to La Fayette’s 
select corps of Light Infantry. He was a non-com¬ 
missioned officer therein, of course constantly about 
the General, and possesses now the very sword 
which the General gave him in common with other 
officers of that his favorite and most excellent corps. 
Mr. Foster held his sword before the General when 
introduced, with emotions of honest pride, and stat¬ 
ing the circumstances welcomed the General to our 
shores and told him that he was proud to see him 
once more on American soil and that his sons par¬ 
ticipated in the joyful occasion. When La Fayette 
learned that one of his own infantry stood before 
him, who had commanded his quarter-guard, and 
when he saw his own mark on the blade of the 
sword, half drawn from the scabbard, he greeted 
his old soldier very cordially and assured him that he 
looked upon him as one of his own family.” 



Independence Hall, Philadelphia 
Reproduced by permission 


LA FAYETTE PITCHER 


45 























He returned by way of Hartford to New York, where on September sixth, 
his sixty-seventh birthday, the Society of the Cincinnati gave a banquet in his 
honor. From that city he set out for Philadelphia, stopping at Trenton for a 
brief visit to Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I, who had been his sincere 
friend in France, and from Philadelphia he went to Baltimore and Washington 
with many halts at intervening places. Virginia, teeming with associations of 
his memorable campaign, welcomed him with unbounded gratitude at Yorktown, 
Williamsburg, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, and Petersburg. Charleston, 
Savannah, and New Orleans echoed his welcome, the latter city especially, with 
its large French population, receiving him with pride as well as affection. He 
passed safely through a shipwreck on the Ohio river on which occasion the cap¬ 
tain’s chief regret, notwithstanding the loss of his vessel and a large sum of money 
on board, was the jeopardy in which he had put the nation’s guest. In June, 
1825, he again visited Boston and on the seventeenth of that month, just fifty 
years after the famous battle whose echoes had reached him at Metz, he laid the 
cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument and received the eulogy which Daniel 
Webster, the orator of the occasion, included in his memorable address. 

Many years before, Congress had allotted to him, in Louisiana, the large tract 
of land which under the system of reward for Revolutionary service was due his 
rank of major general. Soon afterward, and before he had entered upon this 
grant, the land was inadvertently included in a cession to the city of New Orleans, 
to which it was adjacent, and although La Fayette was advised that he could 
hold it by reason of prior title he refused to antagonize any American interest 
and renounced his claim. On his return to Washington after touring the coun¬ 
try, he was received in state by Congress, and as a recompense for the conversion 
of his land, as well as a national testimonial, he was presented two hundred thou¬ 
sand dollars, appropriated by a unanimous vote of all parties. 

La Fayette returned to France on the United States frigate “Brandywine,” 
arriving at Havre on the fifth of October, 1825. His journey to La Grange was 
marked by popular ovations in spite of attempted repression by the Government, 
which was ever watchful for incipient revolution. The years immediately follow¬ 
ing his return from America were passed quietly at La Grange, his influence be¬ 
ing continually manifest, however, through his advice, which was constantly 
.sought by leaders of the Assembly. He was journeying to visit his son at Chav- 
aniac when the forebodings of the revolution of 1830, previously noted, reached 
Auvergne, and his modest excursion was changed to a triumphal march by the 
people, who instinctively looked to him for delivery from despotism. After his 
efficient service on this occasion, and his final relinquishment of the command of 
the National Guard, he served again in the Chamber of Deputies, and retained a 
measure of activity until his death at Paris on the twentieth of May, 1834. 

He was buried beside his wife in the Picpus cemetery which she had helped 
to establish as a resting place for the martyrs of the Reign of Terror, and his 
funeral was an imposing testimonial of the universal appreciation of his char¬ 
acter. Ministers, deputies, government officials, educational and philanthropic 
bodies, and his beloved National Guard, made up a vast procession which followed 
his remains, while the church bells of France and all surrounding countries where 
liberty was established in any degree, tolled throughout the day. 

In America. Congress and the people, on learning of his death, adopted a 
badge of mourning, and the same honors were paid to his memory by the army 
and navy as had been paid to that of General Washington. John Quincy Adams 
delivered an address on his life and character before both houses of Congress 
and fervent eulogies were pronounced in all the cities and centers of the country. 
His career lacked the culmination of such high office 
as is often deemed the measure and meed of success, 
and his abilities were not extraordinary; but his 
gentle, steadfast, and unassailable character, and his 
high and unwavering devotion to the oppressed of two 
continents, gained for him a place in the affections 
of his contemporaries and the regard of succeeding 
generations, that transcends political sovereignty. 




46 










THE LA FAYETTE 

Table Flatware illustrated on the following- pages is a reproduction of a time honored Colonial 
design, the counterpart of many cherished heirlooms whose early owners were the matrons 
of the period of the Revolution. It is made in Sterling Silver, 925/1000 fine, of substantial 
construction and sufficient variety for moderate or extensive chest combinations. 

TOWLE MFG. COMPANY, SILVERSMITHS 


NEWBURYPOUT MASSACHUSETTS 


Chicago, Illinois 
42 Madison Street 



STERLING 


New York City 
41 Union Square 


THE TOWLE MFG. COMPANY DOES NO RETAIL BUSINESS 

47 



































48 






































Table Spoon 
Nos. 42 and ?? 


Dessert Spoon 

Nos. 28 and Pap spoon 



49 























Ice Cream Spoon 


Jelly Spoon 


sugar Spoon 


Berry Spoon 


Preserve Spoon 




50 


^_indUM 

















Small Olive Fork 


Pea Server 
or Ice Spoon 


Nut Spoon 

\ 


Small Olive Spoon 


Almond Scoop 


51 



































52 

















53 


Cream Ladle 













54 










Sugar Sifter 



ACTUAL SIZE 


TRADE 


>:■ STCRllNC 

sterling silver 

-.HI FINE 


Waffle Server 


Tomato Server 


55 

















Olive Fork 


Lettuce Fork 


Lettuce Spoon 


Olive Spoon 



56 







































































Sardine Fork 



Oyster Cocktail Fork 


Ramekin Fork 


Butter Knife 


Grape Fruit Spoon 


Ice Cream Fork 


Orange Spoon 


58 









































Horse Radish Spoon 


Chow Chow Fork 


Fork 






' \ 

A 

\ 

\ 

\ 



Butter Pick 



59 












































Cracker Scoop 



60 




























Pickle Fork 


Beef Fork, small 


Individual 
Salad Fork, small 






61 















































62 




































l. 


63 




















Steak Fork 


Steak Steel 


Tea Knife 


Dessert Knife 


Medium Knife 




?■■■*** 




64 

























Knife, H. H. 
J Steel Blade 



Fruit Fork, H. H. 
Plated Steel Tines 


Child’s Spoon 


Child’s Fork 



Cheese Scoop, H. H. 
Plated Scoop. 







Butter Spreader, H. H. 



65 


































66 
























PAUL REVERE 


















































An Outline 

of the -— 


LIU ^wAVORKSf/C 0 

‘ PAUL REVERE ” 







With a Partial Catalogue 

(f Silverware Bearing His Name 

TOWLE MFC COMPANY 

SILVERSMITHS 

NEWBURYPORT MASSACHUSETTS 


TRADE 



MARK 


STERLING 
































































a 


Sk 




&®QGQOOQQQQQQG>OG)OQ 



STERLING 


THE TOWLE 
MFG COMPANY 

SIL VERSMITHS 

Newburyport Massachusetts 
and Chicago Illinois 

NEW YORK Salesrooms 

( Sam pi e i Only ) 

Hartford Building 41 Union Square 

The Towle Mfg Company 
DOES NO RETAI L 
BUSINESS ANYWHERE 




5nmmmiiiiiniumnmninmitiT E i 

^ —tL - 


Copyrighted 1901 by The Towle Mfg Company 





































































@£9339 


H ROUGH Longfellow we have heard of “the midnight 
ride of Paul Revere,” and a few cherished pieces of silver¬ 
ware bearing his mark have reminded us of his trade; but 
we have been slow to realize the remarkable abilities and 
attainments of this ardent patriot, and the extent and 
importance of the services he rendered in the cause of 
liberty previous and subsequent to his memorable ride, ijjj 
His origin and life are fitter for romance than bald biog¬ 
raphy, and await the writer who shall by mingling art with 
history reproduce the spirit and influence which no mere 
chronicle of his achievements can portray. His sphere was 
outside that of the great leaders of statecraft and battle, but 
it was none the less effective and indispensable; in the 
emergencies of the early days, before events had shaped the 
policy of union, he was the ready arm to execute the will of 
Hancock, Adams and Warren, and was often as well their 
guide to the temper and resources of the body politic, of 
which he was an undisputed leader. 

_ Oppression drove his ancestors from their native home ijjj 

K » » in France, but the spirit which they bequeathed him was 

[n&S ( undaunted, and under the rugged influences of a new 

country met new oppression with determined resistance. 

It is significant of the transition from the French Hugue¬ 
not refugee to the American citizen that Apollos Rivoire, who was born in France 
in the year 1702, and when thirteen years of age arrived in Boston to be appren¬ 
ticed to a goldsmith, in his early manhood modified his name to Paul Revere 
to suit the convenience of neighbors whose Saxon tongues but illy rendered the 
subtleties of his patronymic. He was sent here and apprenticed by an uncle who 
had earlier emigrated to Guernsey and whom he had sought on his departure 
from France. His allegiance to his adopted country was completed when in 
1729 as an established goldsmith he married Deborah Hitchborn, a native of 
Boston. They had many children, but it is with the third, the Paul Revere of 
American history, born December twenty-first, 1734, that we are concerned. 

He received his education from the famous Master Tileston at the “North 
Grammar School,” and then entered his father’s shop to learn 
the trade of goldsmith and silversmith. The varied operations 
of such work, more especially at a time when appliances were 
few and primitive, developed his mechanical powers, while a 
natural refinement of taste and talent for drawing found a stim¬ 
ulative exercise in designing and embellishing with the graver 


Ancestry and Early Life 












4 





the product of the shop. His abilities in the latter early led him to practice 
1765 copperplate engraving, and it was through this channel that his influence on the 
political life of the time first began to be felt. Pictorial illustration for publication 
in those days was limited to a very few processes. Wood engraving had been 
highly developed by a few great masters, but as commonly practiced was very 
crude and unsatisfactory. Lithography was not yet invented, and so copperplate 
engraving, which we are now accustomed to associate with work of a more luxu¬ 
rious sort, was the most available means of disseminating the caricatures and 
allegories that always have formed an essential part of an appeal to the judgment 
of the people. Today the execution and publication of such for a great news¬ 
paper would be a matter of a very few hours; then the plates were slowly and 
laboriously wrought, and the prints as slowly made, but from the very rarity 
thus engendered came a corresponding importance, and to these embodiments 
of patriotic sentiment may be traced much of the enthusiasm for Colonial rights. 
The imposition and repeal of the detested Stamp Act were the subjects of some 
of his earliest efforts in this field, and they achieved an immediate popularity. 
Later his illustration of the “ Boston Massacre,” March 5, 1770, when the British 
troops shot down Crispus Attucks and his companions on King (now State) street, 
proved a valuable document and memorial of that affair, and was even copied and 
issued in England. His early plates, as was to be expected from one wholly 
self-taught in the art, were crude in detail, though expressive and forceful in com¬ 
position, but his later work often attained a considerable degree of elegance and 
artistic merit. 

The martial spirit that stirred him to such a degree in later life asserted 
itself first on the occasion of the campaign against the French in Canada in 1756, 
and he was at that time commissioned Second Lieutenant of Artillery by Gov¬ 
ernor Shirley and attached to the expedition against Crown Point under com¬ 
mand of General John Winslow. His service in this campaign was uneventful, 


ChristChurch Salem Street 



Copperplate Engraving 




















































^^ulReve^3 


and some six months later he returned to his business. From this time his 775*5 
allegiance to royal authority steadily waned. 

The expense of protecting the Colonies from the encroachments of the 
French had been large, and in apportioning a share of this to America the king 
desired also to express the sovereignty of the mother country with a view of 
checking the growing independence of thought that was manifest in certain 
quarters, particularly in Boston. His ministers therefore devised the Stamp 1762 
Act, which, though defeated in Parliament when first offered, was passed in 1765 
and its enforcement immediately attempted. This included a tax upon thejydy 
imports of the Colonies, but its repugnance to the latter lay in the fact that they 
had no voice in the matter, a right which they claimed under the Magna Charta, 
the foundation of English liberty. The resentment engendered by this enact¬ 
ment operated to widen the breach between Whigs and Tories, as the sympa¬ 
thizers of the King were called, and the leaders of the former banded themselves 
together under the name of the Sons of Liberty. Their meetings were con¬ 
ducted with great secrecy, those in Boston being held chiefly at the Green 
Dragon tavern, and measures were taken to resist at every step the impending 
tyranny. 

Paul Revere, popular among his fellows, and esteemed by those whom 
social position and previous services had marked as prime directors, became a 
prominent figure in this movement and was intrusted with the execution of many 
important affairs. Committees of Safety and Correspondence were formed 
throughout the Colonies, and Revere was often the bearer of intelligence and 
instructions from one to another. His chief commissions at this time were to 
carry to New York and Philadelphia the sentiments of Massachusetts, and its 
proposition to unify the action of the country through a Colonial Congress. 

This Congress was held at New York in October of the same year, and adopted 
a Declaration of Rights and Grievances which, together with the protests from 
British merchants and the earnest efforts of William Pitt, caused Parliament to 
repeal the obnoxious Act early in 1766. jj66 



x 


! 


“Sons of Liberty” 





















6 



Wko voted not to [Rescind 


The King, unwilling to renounce his policy of subjection, secured the pas¬ 
sage of another and somewhat similar Act aimed at American commerce, and 
again the Colonies were excited to resistance and methods devised to defeat its 
provisions. A non-importation league was formed, and many encounters 
occurred between the crown officers, or their sympathizers, and the patriots. 
Paul Revere appears as a leading spirit in these demonstrations, and several of 
/7&?them were marked by the publication of engravings. One of these is a caricature 
portraying the entrance into the jaws of hell, typified by a dragon emitting flames, 
of the seventeen members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who 
at the King’s behest voted to rescind the Act authorizing the issuance of a cir¬ 
cular letter to the General Assemblies of the several Colonies inviting co-opera¬ 
tion in defense of their rights. The ninety-two members who voted not to 
rescind were honored by a memorial in the form of a silver punch bowl made 
by Revere and presented by fifteen Sons of Liberty. He also executed views 
of the landing of British troops at Boston, beside many prints of a more private 
/770nature, and two years later his representation of the Boston Massacre; the 
^77/ next year, on the anniversary of this encounter, he displayed from the chamber 
windows of his house in North Square a series of transparencies commemorative 
of the affair. This house, though somewhat modified, is still standing. 

The discontent bred by the stamp measures of Parliament and nurtured in 
*773 the secret societies and caucuses that abounded in Boston burst from these 
bounds on the 29th of November, 1773, with the issuance of a broadside, or 
poster as we would now term it, calling the citizens to meet and take action upon 
the matter. The ship “Dartmouth,” laden with tea, had arrived on the 28th, 
and great excitement prevailed. The meeting announced was held and addressed 
by noted patriots, who urged the people to prevent the discharge of the cargo. 
Samuel Adams offered a resolution “that the tea should not be landed; that it 
should be sent back in the same bottom to the place whence it came, and at all 
events that no duty should be paid on it.” This was unanimously adopted, and 
a guard of twenty-five men was appointed to support it. Paul Revere was one 
of this number, and with others watched the ship that night. Another meeting 
was held the next day and the owners of the “ Dartmouth ” and two other tea 


Pre -Revolution ary Services 




















ships which had arrived were compelled to promise to send them back to Eng¬ 
land without unloading. Governor Hutchinson upset this peaceful solution of 
the matter by forbidding the issuance of clearance papers for the ships until the 
cargoes should be discharged. This further inflamed the citizens, and on the 
16th of December another excited gathering was held in the “Old South” 
Meeting House. At the close of this meeting the cry, “ Boston Harbor a tea¬ 
pot tonight,” was raised, at which signal a band of men styling themselves 1773 
“Mohawks,” and largely disguised as such, led the way to Griffin’s Wharf, 
boarded the ships, and in an orderly manner burst open three hundred and forty- 
two chests and threw the tea into the waters of the harbor. As usual, Paul Revere 
was one of the instigators and leaders of this — the first act of open rebellion. 

As a result of this action laws were passed in Parliament closing the port 
of Boston and in other ways restricting the liberties of the people of Massa- 1774 
chusetts. Although the purpose of these was to crush the rebellious spirit of 
the Colonists, they served only to further inflame them, and Paul Revere was 
soon riding again to enlist the support of the Southern provinces in behalf of 
Massachusetts. He was enthusiastically received in New York, and reached 
Philadelphia on the 20th of May, after a journey of six days. Here a meeting 
of citizens was immediately held, at which it was unanimously resolved to make 
the cause of Boston their own. Bearing letters of sympathy, Revere returned 
to Boston, while a committee of correspondence which was appointed at the 
Philadelphia meeting sent copies of their acts, accompanied by a suggestion for 
a General Congress, to New York and the Colonies to the south. New York 
had received intelligence of the action of Parliament before the arrival of Paul 
Revere, and had despatched to Boston a message of sympathy and encourage¬ 
ment, and the bearer of it, John Ludlow, met Revere near Providence, Rhode 
Island, as each traveled his opposite way on the same account. The General 


Paul Revere’s House 



“Mohawk” and Messenger 





















































































































































































Congress favored by Philadelphia was, at the suggestion of the (jeneraTDourt 

/77^of Massachusetts, held in that city the following September, and the acts of 
injustice suffered by the Colonists were recited in a Declaration of Colonial 
Rights. Important memorials and resolutions were passed, and the American 
Association was formed — the first confederacy of the provinces and the real 
beginning of the Union. 

Far-seeing patriots realized the meaning of these measures, and the Mas¬ 
sachusetts House of Representatives, reorganized under the name of the 
“Provincial Congress,” assumed the reins of independent government and 
voted to enroll twelve thousand Minute Men. Revere was called upon once 
more to ride to Philadelphia, and carried the “Suffolk Resolves,” an incipient 
Declaration of Independence, to the Continental Congress, and again returned 
with unanimous assurances of unfaltering support. In October he made another 
journey to Philadelphia to learn the transactions of Congress, and on the 13th 
of December he carried to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the news that Parlia¬ 
ment had forbidden the further importation of gunpowder and military stores, 
and that a large garrison was coming to occupy Fort William and Mary, situated 
1774 in Newcastle at the entrance of Portsmouth harbor. Acting on this intelligence, 
the “ Sons of Liberty” of that neighborhood surprised the fort on the night of 
the 14th and removed upwards of one hundred barrels of gunpowder and fifteen 
cannon. 

The inevitable conflict was fast approaching, and under General Gage, 
Governor of Massachusetts, the British forces at Boston were largely increased, 
and efforts were made to anticipate the uprising of the Colonists by seizing and 
removing the military stores and arms of the outlying posts. Thus watching 
and seeking to outwit each other, oppressor and patriot strengthened their situa¬ 
tions to the utmost, and awaited the turn of events. The Sons of Liberty 
increased their vigilance, and under rigid oaths of secrecy debated methods of 
resistance. In spite of all precautions it was found that intelligence of their 
meetings was immediately carried to Governor Gage, and though greatly 
annoyed, they were unable to identify the traitor until the more absolute 

// 1 in qij division of actual conflict 

UCHTERLONY/TOZ/Y? NLENTREO/. marked the opposing par¬ 
ties. Every available 
£1 method of espionage was 
taken advantage of, and 
by the middle of April 
enough had been learned 
to convince them that the 
British were preparing for 
immediate action. They 
were therefore in readi¬ 
ness when, on the even¬ 
ing of the 1 8th, Dr. 
Warren learned that 
troops were gathering on 
. Boston Common. He 
immediately sent for Paul 
Revere and communi- 
.-s cated his fears for the 

safety of Messrs. Han- 


1775 




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^^ulReve^2 



The Green Dragon 


cock and Adams, who were at 
Lexington, and for whose cap¬ 
ture and that of the stores at 
Concord, he believed the expe¬ 
dition organized. He begged 
Revere to go at once to Lexing¬ 
ton to warn the patriots, on 
which errand he had already 
despatched one William Dawes. 
Revere a few days before had 
visited Lexington, and fearing 
the impossibility of direct com¬ 


munication when the blow should fall, had arranged to show by signal lanterns 
the route taken by the enemy. In the event of departure by water two lights 
were to be shown in the belfry of the North Church, and if by land, one. 

It was then about ten o’clock, and this “Mercury of the Revolution,” as 
he has been aptly called, started immediately on that errand which is so closely 7773- 
identified with his name, and which is justly held to be one of the most preg¬ 
nant events of the nation’s history. He first called upon his friend, Robert 
Newman, sexton of the North Church, and arranged for the displaying of the 
signals when the troops had started, a matter in itself of considerable danger, 
as regulars were quartered in Newman’s house and, as elsewhere, watched every 
movement; then going to his home he clothed himself for the journey, and 
hastened to the wharf, where his boat was in readiness. Two friends, Thomas 
Richardson and Joshua Bentley, rowed him across the Charles River under the 
guns of the man-of-war Somerset, whose officers tardily awoke to vigilance a 
few minutes later. 

An amusing side light is thrown on this passage by an incident preserved 
in the traditions of the Revere family. It is related that while the party was 
on the way to the boat it was remembered that nothing had been provided to 
muffle the sound of the oars against the thole-pins. A halt was made before a 
house near by, and a cautious signal brought an answer from a darkened window 
above. Their need was made known, and the next moment a woolen petticoat 
exchanged its natural office for a place in history. 

Arriving safely at Charlestown, Revere was 
met by waiting patriots, who had observed the 
signal lights that now shone from the steeple on 
Copp’s Hill. Procuring a horse, he started by 
the most direct route to Lexington, but had 
ridden only a short distance when he discovered 
two British officers lurking in the shadow of a 
tree, and was obliged to turn quickly, barely 
escaping their attack, and ride toward Medford. 

In that place he aroused the captain of the 
Minute Men, and proceeding, spread the alarm 
to Lexington. He found Messrs. Adams and 
Hancock at the residence of Rev. Mr. Clark, 
and while there was joined by Dawes, the latter 


SIGNAL 

Lanterns 




The Midnight Ride 































I o 



I^BwlRevereJ 



r775 



Son of Liberty and resident of the latter 

place whom Cupid had kept from home 
until that hour. He proved a valuable 
addition to the party, as he knew the 
ground thoroughly and was acquainted 
at every house on the road. 

Revere had.been informed of the 
presence of British scouts in that neigh¬ 
borhood and advanced with caution, 
leaving to the others the task of warning 
the farmers. They had covered about 
half the distance when Revere saw before 
him two men in the same suspicious 
situation of those at Charlestown. He 
stopped and called for Dawes and Pres- 
to come U P- Before the arrival of 
** ^ the latter, the two men, who like the 
others proved to be British officers, were joined by four more, and the little party 
was driven at the points of pistols and swords into a field where six more officers 
on horseback were ambushed. Revere and Dawes were captured, but Dr. Pres¬ 
cott, by jumping his horse over a stone wall, got away and reached Concord. 
The prisoners were closely questioned and threatened, but suffered no actual 
violence, and in the excitement of a volley from the Lexington militia as they 
neared that town on the way to Cambridge, they were abandoned by their cap- 
tors—who were themselves intent upon reaching a place of safety—and made 
their way again to Mr. Clark’s house. 

From here Revere accompanied Hancock and Adams to a place of safety 
in Woburn, and then returned once more to the Clark house. He soon learned 
that the British troops were close at hand, and at the request of Mr. Lowell, 
clerk to Mr. Hancock, he went with the former to the tavern to secure a trunk 
containing valuable papers. The following extract from Paul Revere’s written 
story of the affair gives a graphic picture of this incident: 

“We went up chamber, and while we were getting the trunk, we saw the 
British very near, upon a full march. We hurried toward Mr. Clark’s house. 
In our way we passed through the militia. They were about fifty. When we 
had got about one hundred yards from the meeting house, the British troops 
appeared on both sides of the meeting house. In their front was an officer on 
horseback. They made a short halt, when I saw and heard a gun fired, which 
appeared to be a pistol. 


Then I could distinguish 
two guns, and then a con¬ 
tinual roar of musketry; 
when we made off with 
the trunk.” 

This ends the record 
of Revere’s part in this 
expedition. How the 
British troops passed on to 
Concord and precipitately 
returned is known of all, 
and like Revere’s ride, has 



4 ft ; 




At Lexington 


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been worthily recorded in 

verse. It was war; and 
when its smoke had cleared 
away the parties that had 
suspected and watched 
each other as neighbors be¬ 
came enemies, with no neu¬ 
tral ground. Revere took 
up his residence in Charles¬ 
town, and from that point 
set about managing his 
affairs in Boston. A few 
weeks later, when passes 
could be procured, his wife ^ Wv 
and family joined him on % \ ^ ^7A n L 
the other side of the ^ ji 
Charles River. 

More rides to New 
York and Philadelphia 
were required of Revere, 
but occupation more to his 
taste was offered the fol¬ 
lowing year, after the Brit¬ 
ish, harrassed by Washing¬ 
ton, had evacuated Boston. 

The departing troops had 
endeavored to disable the 
cannon at Castle William, 
now Fort Independence, 
and at the request of Gen¬ 
eral Washington, Revere 
undertook to repair them. 

He succeeded by inventing 
a new form of carriage, 
rendered necessary by the fact that the trunnions had been broken from the 1776 
guns. Shortly after this (in July) a regiment was raised for the defence of the 
town and harbor, and Revere was commissioned Major. In November of the 
same year he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of a regiment of State 
Artillery, in which office he performed many important duties, including the 
transference from Worcester to Boston, in August, 1777, of a body of several 
hundred prisoners captured at Bennington by Colonel Stark. He took part 
also, with his regiment, in the first campaign in Rhode Island, and was several 1778 
times in command at Castle William, incidentally presiding at many courts- 
martial. His services in defence of Boston Harbor were onerous and marked 
by privations and discontent among his men, but he steadfastly fulfilled his duties 
and endeavored to make the best of the situation despite the adverse conditions. 

On the 26th of June, 1779, Colonel Revere was ordered to prepare one 
hundred members of his command for instant departure with the expedition 
being formed to attack the British at Maja-Bagaduce, now Castine, Maine. 

This expedition, under Brigadier-General Solomon Lovell and Commodore 
Dudley Saltonstall, reached the Penobscot in thirty-seven vessels on the 25th 





!£*' ■ 

CaptainB\rker HHKitsonSc 
Hayes Memorial Lexington 


Military Services 















i779 of July and undertook to besiege the enemy. Mismanagement and misfortune 
prevailed, and on the 13th of August the attempt culminated in their utter 
defeat by a British squadron that suddenly appeared and hemmed in the 
Americans. The expedition was completely demoralized, burning its ships to 
prevent them falling into the enemy’s possession, and making its way back to 
Boston in scattered parties. A most unfortunate feature of this affair, for 
Revere, was a quarrel engendered by a conflict of authority with a Captain of 
Marines, which, early in September, after Revere had again been placed in com¬ 
mand of Castle William, resulted in his removal from this place and the service, 
under complaint of this officer. Revere traced this trouble to enmity incurred 
in the discharge of duty at Castle William, and he had anticipated it by pro¬ 
testing against the presence in the expedition of certain members who were 
known to be unfriendly to him for this reason, having previously tried to 
sustain charges against him. Revere addressed a very full account of his 
doings on the expedition, and especially of the points at issue, to the Council, 
and repeatedly requested a court-martial, but not until 1781 did he obtain a 
trial. He was, however, completely acquitted and vindicated, the decree being 
concurred in and signed by Governor Hancock. It was a matter of great regret 
to Revere that his opportunities were restricted to the service of the State. He 
had hoped and endeavored to obtain a place in the Continental Army, and was 
greatly disappointed at the inactivity of his influential friends in his behalf. 

Thus closed Revere’s service in the war, which was then waning, and he 
continued assiduously in the business of goldsmith and silversmith, which he 
resumed when relieved from his command. His last contribution to the cause 
of Freedom was in the interest of the adoption of the Federal Constitution 
when that matter was being considered by the statesmen of Massachusetts. 

I 7 SS Its fate hung in the balance, when resolutions were presented to Samuel Adams, 
as usual a leader in the Convention, by Paul Revere, representing the mechanics 
and tradesmen of Boston in public meeting assembled. The resolutions were 
effective, Massachusetts ratified the Constitution, and other States awaiting her 
decision followed her example. As at the beginning so at the end, Revere was 
preeminent in establishing Independence. 

His unique abilities show to the best advantage in his conquest over the 
mechanical and chemical problems of the times, and the services rendered the 



Accused and Vindicated 



























cause of liberty through these channels are equal in importance to those we 
have related. One of the first of these was the manufacture of gunpowder, at I 77 6 
Canton, Massachusetts, when the only other source of supply was in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Philadelphia, and the proprietor of that hostile to his enterprise. 

He succeeded, nevertheless, from the first, and thus greatly enlarged the 
resources of the Northern Army. He was also employed to oversee the cast- T 777 
ing of cannon, and to engrave and print the notes issued by Congress and by J 77S 
Massachusetts. In addition to his regular trade, he established an important 
hardware store on Essex street, opposite the site of the famous Liberty Tree that^/^J 
was the center of much of the patriotic demonstration of pre-Revolutionary times. 

There was apparently no limit to the variety of work successfully essayed 
by Revere, for it is shown by abundant testimony that in his younger days he 
practiced with much skill the making and inserting of artificial teeth, which art x 7 68 
he learned from an English dentist temporarily located in Boston, while he also 
designed many of the frames that now surround the paintings of his friend 
Copley. These were, however, but incidents in comparison with the heroic 
undertakings of his later years. Those were the days of beginnings; when 
everything started from the fundamental elements and those elements were dif¬ 
ficult to procure. No task appalled him, and many of nature’s secrets yielded 
to his persistent investigations. In 1789 he established an iron foundry of con¬ 
siderable capacity, and in 1792 began casting church bells, the first of which, still 
in existence, was for the Second Church of Boston. He cast many of these— 
later taking his son, Joseph Warren, into the business—and examples of them 
are numerous ipr the old parishes of eastern Massachusetts. One at Saint 
Paul’s Church, Newburyport, has been in continuous service until within a few 
months, and is now preserved as a relic. Brass cannon, and the many sorts 
of metal-work needed for the building and equipping of ships, of which the 
National Government was a large purchaser, were a part of the regular product ^794 
of this establishment. He invented a process of treating copper that enabled 
him to hammer and roll it while hot, thus greatly facilitating the manufacture 
of the bolts and spikes needed in this work. ^ 

In many respects the most important of all Revere’s enterprises was that 
or rolling copper into large sheets, inaugurated at Canton, Massachusetts, in the 
year 1800. Concerning this, Revere says in a letter of December 22, that year: 

“I have engaged to build me a mill for rolling copper into sheets, which for me 
is a very great undertaking, and will require every farthing which I can rake or 
scrape.” It should be remembered that his foundry and silversmithy were still 
in operation, and therefore the aggregate of capital required was considerable. 

He secured aid from the United States Government to the extent of ten 



Practical Versatility 





















Hancock-Clarke House 


thousand dollars, which 
was to be, and subse¬ 
quently was, taken up in 
sheet copper. This was 
the first copper rolling 
mill in the country and it 
occasioned much favor¬ 
able comment, the more 
especially as every such 
triumph severed a bond 
of dependency upon the 
mother country, besides 
developing the power of 
our own. Here were 
made the plates—five feet 
long, three feet wide, and 
1809 one-quarter inch thick—for the boilers of Robert Fulton’s steam engines, and 
the sheets for sheathing many ships of war. In 1828 the business was incorpo¬ 
rated as the Revere Copper Company, and under this name is still conducted. 

The cares and duties of a busy life did not prevent Revere from cultiva¬ 
ting its social side, and here, as in other fields, he attained distinction. He was 
the first Entered Apprentice to be received into Saint Andrew’s Lodge of Free 
Masons, and ten years later, in 1770, became its Master. He was one of the 
organizers of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and was its Grand Master 
from 1794 to 1797. In this capacity he assisted Governor Samuel Adams at 
1795 the laying of the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House, July 4, 1795, 

and also delivered an address on that occasion. 

In 1783 Saint Andrew’s Lodge was 
divided upon the question of remaining under 
the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Scot¬ 
land, which had chartered both it and the 
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, or of affilia¬ 
ting with the latter. Twenty-nine members 
favored the old arrangement, while twenty- 
three, including Revere, desired to change. 
The minority withdrew and formed the Rising 
States Lodge, September, 1784, with Paul 
Revere its first Master. He made jewels for 
these Lodges, and engraved and printed 
elaborate certificates of membership and 
notification cards. 

At the death of General Washington he 
was made one of a committee of three Past 
Grand Masters to write a letter of condolence 
to Mrs. Washington, and to solicit from her 
a lock of the hero’s hair. This request was 
granted, and Revere executed a golden urn, 
about four inches in height, for the reception 
of the relic. He was one of the pall-bearers 
at the observance of Washington’s funeral by 
the Masons of Boston, and prepared the 


Lexington-1761 


Social Attainments 













































































































6 ',i 


insignia, a large white mar¬ 
ble urn on a pedestal cov- r8oo 
ered with a pall and bearing 
other suitable emblems. 

Through correspond¬ 
ence he cultivated the ac¬ 
quaintance of relatives in 
Guernsey and in France, 
and from them learned 
much family history, often 
contributing on his part 
patriotic defence of his 

__ _ ^ country and its French 

Iallies, of whom his cousin 
IS.f- j ~~~~~ T/ in Guernsey was especially 

rule hen Hancock-Cl arke House denu ndatory. 

A lasting monument to the ruling passion of his life is the Massachusetts 
Charitable Mechanics Association which, chiefly through his instrumentality, 
was formed in 1795. He was its first president, and continued in that office 7795 
until 1799, when he declined reelection, although his interest in its affairs was 
undiminished and his counsel its main dependence. 

Forty years old when he rode on the midnight alarm, Paul Revere gave 
the prime of his life to the service of his country. His earlier years of enthu¬ 
siasm had prepared the way, and his later years reaped the reward of his 
patriotism, industry and virtue. This reward was both material and temporal. 
From the people he had unqualified respect and abundant honors, while his 
own talents had provided him with a competency that enabled him to live well, 
to educate a large family of children, and finally to leave them in comfortable 
circumstances. 

He died May 10, 1818, aged 83 years, and was buried in the Granary 1818 
Burial Ground in the company of his former friends, John Hancock and 
Samuel Adams, and in the center of the scenes of his activity — almost under 
the shadow of the State House whose cornerstone he helped to set and whose 
significance he had labored to establish. 

Paul Revere was the man for the times, and the times developed Paul 
Revere. His works are history, and his personality is a profitable and inspir¬ 
ing study for all who regard public worth and private virtue and integrity. 



Obituary 


























































RIDE 


PAUL REVERE’S 


L ISTEN, my children, and you shall hear 
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, 

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five ; 
Hardly a man is now alive 
Who remembers that famous day and year. 

He said to his friend, “ If the British march 
By land or sea from the town to-night, 

Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch 

Of the North Church tower as a signal light,— 

One, if by land, and two, if by sea ; 

And I on the opposite shore will be, 

Ready to ride and spread the alarm 
Through every Middlesex village and farm, 

For the country-folk to be up and to arm.” 

Then he said, “Good night! ” and with muffled oar 
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore, 

Just as the moon rose over the bay, 

Where swinging wide at her moorings lay 
The Somerset, British man-of-war; 

A phantom ship, with each mast and spar 
Across the moon like a prison bar, 

And a huge black hulk, thar was magnified 
By its own reflection in the tide. 

Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street, 
Wanders and watches with eager ears, 

Till in the silence around him he hears 
The muster of men at the barrack door, 

The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet. 

And the measured tread of the grenadiers, 

Marching down to their boats on the shore. 

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church, 
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread, 

To the belfry-chamber overhead, 

And startled the pigeons from their perch 
On the somber rafters, that round him made 
Masses and moving shapes of shade,— 

By the trembling ladder, steep and tall, 

To the highest window in the wall, 

Where he paused to listen and look down 
A moment on the roofs of the town, 

And the moonlight flowing over all. 

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead, 
in their night-encampment on the hill, 

Wrapped in silence so deep and still 
That he could hear, like a sentinel’s tread, 

The watchful night-wind, as it went 
Creeping along from tent to tent, 

And seeming to whisper, “All is welll” 

A moment only he feels the spell 

Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread 

Of the lonely belfry and the dead; 

For suddenly all his thoughts are bent 
On a shadowy something far away, 

Where the river widens to meet the bay,— 

A line of black that bends and floats 
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats. 
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride 
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride 
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere. 

Now he patted his horse’s side, 

Now gazed at the landscape far and near, 

Then, impetuous, stamped the earth, 

And turned and tightened his saddle-girth ; 

But mostly he watched with eager search 
The belfry tower of the Old North Church, 

As it rose above the graves on the hill, 

Printed by special arrangement with Houghton, Mifflin & 


Lonely and spectral and somber and still. 

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height, 

A glimmer, and then a gleam of light! 

He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, 

But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight 
A second lamp in the belfry burns ! 

A hurry of hoofs in a village street, 

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, 
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark 
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet: 
That was all ! And yet, through the gloom and 
the light, 

The fate of a nation was riding that night; 

And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight, 
Kindled the land into flame with its heat. 

He has left the village and mounted the steep, 

And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep, 

Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides ; 

And under the alders, that skirt its edge, 

Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge, 

Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides. 

It was twelve by the village clock 

When he crossed the bridge into Medford town. 

He heard the crowing of the cock, 

And the barking of the farmer’s dog. 

And felt the damp of the river fog, 

That rises after the sun goes down. 

It was one by the village clock, 

When he galloped into Lexington. 

He saw the gilded weathercock 
Swim in the moonlight as he passed, 

And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare, 
Gaze at him with a spectral glare, 

As if they already stood aghast 

At the bloody work they would look upon. 

It was two by the village clock, 

When he came to the bridge in Concord town. 

He heard the bleating of the flock, 

And the twitter of birds among the trees, 

And felt the breath of the morning breeze 
Blowing over the meadows brown. 

And one was safe and asleep in his bed 
Who at the bridge would be first to fall, 

Who that day would be lying dead, 

Pierced by a British musket-ball. 

You know the rest. In the books you have read, 
How the British Regulars fired and fled,— 

How the farmers gave them ball for ball, 

From behind each fence and farm-yard wall, 
Chasing the red-coats down the lane, 

Then crossing the fields to emerge again 
Under the trees at the turn of the road, 

And only pausing to fire and load. 

So through the night rode Paul Revere ; 

And so through the night went his cry of alarm 
To every Middlesex village and farm,— 

A cry of defiance and not of fear, 

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, 

And a word that shall echo forevermore ! 

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past, 
Through all our history to the last, 

In the hour of darkness and peril and need, 

The people will waken and listen to hear 
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, 

And the midnight message of Paul Revere. 

— Longfellow. 

Co., publishers of Longfellow ’s Works. 
























































Boston Massacre. 

THE PAUL REVERE 

is fourth of a series of patterns inspired by different yet characteristic phases of the 
“Old Colonial” style. “Colonial,” “Georgian” and “Newbury” have 
successively and successfully embodied this in its more elaborate aspects, but it is reserved 
for the “ Paul Revere” to exemplify the elegant simplicity which, the more especially 
in silverware, distinguishes the taste of our forefathers. The threads that form its only 
ornamentation may be found on much of the early work, notably on that of Paul Revere, 
whose conspicuous abilities in this and other fields have made his name immortal, and 
the story of whose life is briefly told in the preceding pages. 

This pattern is made in medium and heavy weights, all of which from the nature 
of its construction are substantial, and may be found in the stocks of leading jewelers of 
the United States and Canada. Purchasers of silverware should see that goods offered 
bear this trade-mark, which is a guarantee of Sterling quality. 



STEAUNO 


Towle Mfg Company Silversmiths 

NEWBURYPORT MASSACHUSETTS . \ CHICAGO ILLINOIS 

NEW YORK CITY 

THE TOWLE MFG COMPANY DOES NO RETAIL BUSINESS ANYWHERE 
































































































Table Spoon. 
Nos 33. 39 and 45. 


Dessert Spoon. 
Nos 24. 28 and 32 


Coffee Spoon, 


Tea Spoon. 
Nos. 16 and 18 


Sterling Silver 





Iffi 

/fir 


\\ / / 





1000 

























































Table Fork 
Jos 33 39 and 45. 


Dessert Fork. 
Nos 24 28 and 32 


Bouillon Spoon. 


Chocolate Spoon. 


Soup Spoon. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRUNC 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 


1000 














































































STCOLINC 


Preserve Spoon. 


20 


Orange Spoon 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 


I 000 


FINE 


Jelly Spoon 


Sugar Spoon 


Ice Cream Spoon. 






















































Berry Spoon 


Almond Scoop 


Vegetable Spoon 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRLINC 


FINE 



































22 



















































Pie Server 





































































2 4 



Cream Ladle 


Ladle 


Bouillon Ladle 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


i ooo 





















ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRUNC 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 


1000 




Salad Spoon. 


Bonbon Scoop 


Salad Fork. 









































26 



Individual 
Salad Fork, large, 


Individual 
Salad Fork, small, 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRUNC 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


1000 


Em 


> 





1 






1 


































































ACTUAL SIZE 



Sterling Silver 


925 
I 000 


FINE 


Butter Knife. 























































ACTUAL SIZE 



STCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


925 
I 000 


FINE 


Butter Spreader. H.H. 


































































29 




Medium Knife. 


Dessert Knife 


Bird Carver 


Bird Fork. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 


1000 


STCRUNQ 















































































Iced-Tea Spoon. 


Ice Spoon, large 


Olive Fork, 


Horse Radish Spoon. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 


FINE 


1000 


Olive Spoon. 











































































3 1 


Individual Fish Fork. 


Spinach Fork. 


Cold Meat Fork. 




ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 


i ooo 


FINE 























































:pSS3| 




Sardine Fork, large. 


Asparagus Fork. 


Sardine Fork small 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
925 


FINE 


i 000 










































33 



Ice Cream Fork. 



Berry Fork. 


Toast Server. 


Pickle Fork. 



ACTUAL SIZE 


STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


fine 


A ; r - 


[ggf ■ ’ 

Ilf 

'Ml 

M 


■ j 



































































PaulRevere 


Cucumber Server 


Lemon Server 


Waffle Server, 


ACTUAL SIZE 




FINE 


I 000 
































35 




Sugar Tongs 


Asparagus Tongs. 


Lettuce Fork 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 
































PAUL REVERE DINNER AND TEA SERVICE 



The beauty and charm of Paul Revere’s work as a silversmith are especially 
evidenced in the hollow-ware that bears his mark, which is characterized particularly by 
simplicity of design and refinement of outline and proportions. The Paul Revere 
ware here illustrated exemplifies these qualities to a marked degree and was prepared as 
much to supplement the Paul Revere pattern of flat-ware—and thereby make possible 
a complete and harmonious table-service—as to create in the spirit of this famous colonial 
craftsman an artistically meritorious design. 

Every article pertaining to a Dinner or Tea Service is made in this style, 
of sterling silver fine, and stamped with this special registered 

trade mark. 


TABLE AND CHEST 371 




















CONTENTS OF CHEST 371 

371. Chest with Table. Oak or Mahogany. 

Plate Glass Front and Plate Glass Top for each Drawer. 

Deck and two Drawers. 

Accommodates 331 pieces Flat Ware and 7 piece Tea Set. 

Height, 28*4 inches. Front, 37^ inches. Front to back, 23^3 inches. 


7634 Sugar Bowl 7634 Waste 6234 Waiter 

7634 Cream Pitcher 7634 Kettle 


Deck —7634 Coffee Pot 
7634 Tea Pot 

Drawer No. i 
12 Coffee Spoons 
12 Bouillon Spoons 
12 Iced Tea Spoons 
12 Oyster Forks 

Drawer No. 2 

12 Tea Spoons P. M. 
12 Tea Spoons 
12 Table Spoons 
12 Dessert Spoons 
12 Table Forks 
12 Dessert Forks 


12 Ind. Salad Forks 
12 Ind. Fish Forks 
12 Ice Cream Forks 
12 Butter Spreaders 

12 Fruit Forks H. II. 
12 Fruit Knives H. H. 
12 Duck Knives H. H. 
12 Ind. Fish Knives 
12 Soup Spoons 
1 Sugar Spoon 


12 Egg Spoons 
12 Chocolate Spoons 
12 Sherbet Spoons 
12 Orange Spoons 

1 Berry Spoon 
1 Salad Spoon 
1 Salad Fork 
1 Cold Meat Fork 
1 Fish Knife 
1 Fish Fork 


12 Medium Knives 
12 Dessert Knives 
12 Tea Knives 
7 Piece Carving Set 

1 Butter Knife 
1 Sugar Tongs 
1 Cream Ladle 
1 Gravy Ladle 
1 Soup Ladle 


1345 Table. Height, 25^4 inches. Front, 3834 inches. Front to back, 32 
inches. Combined Height of Chest and Table, 53% inches. 



TEA SET 7634 


WAITER 6234 

























CREAM PITCHERS 5534-7234-7634 
WATER PITCHERS 6764-6765 


HOLLOW-WARE MADE IN PAUL REVERE PATTERN 


5534 

A. D. Coffee Set 

Coffee Pot 

Cream Pitcher 
Sugar Bowl 

3034 

Asparagus Dish 

3234 

Baking Dish 

5234 

Berry Bowl 

5084 

Berry Saucer 

4835 

Bon Bon Dish 

5834 

Bread Tray 

4084 

Butter Dish, round 

4134 

Butter Dish, covered 

9604 

Butter Plates, individ 

9534 

Cake Basket 

3764 

Candelabrum 

3734 

Candlestick 

6534 

Card Tray 

8333 

Celery Dip 

4154 

Celery Tray 


Capacity 3 half pints. 
Capacity half pint. 


Height 834 inches. 

Height 434 inches. 

Height 434 inches. 

Length 1634 in. Width 1034 in. Height 134 inches. 
Diameter 12 % hi. Height 234 inches. 

Diameter 1134 in. Height 4 1 s inches. 

Diameter 634 inches. 

Length 634 in. Width 4% in. 

Length 1434 in. Width 8 % in. 

Diameter 734 in. Height 134 inches. 

Length 834 in. Width 6 % in. Height 5 
Diameter 334 inches. 

Length 12 % in. Width y in. 

Height 1434 inches. 

Height 934 inches. 

Diameter 6 inches. 

Length 234 in. Width 2 in. 


Height 334 inches. 
Height 234 inches. 


inches. 


Height 334 inches. 


Height 1 inch. 
Height 2 inches. 


Sterling Silver 


925/1000 Fine 


STCRLIMS 
















AFTER DINNER COFFEE SET AND WAITER 5534 



7884 

Child's Cup 

Height 4 inches. 


6635 

Chop Dish 

Diameter 16 inches. 


7634 

Coffee Pot 

Height 9^4 inches. 

Capacity 6 half pints. 

9734 

Compotier 

Diameter 8 % in. Height 4 inches. 

9735 

Compotier 

Diameter 12^ in. 

Height 5 ^ inches. 

5384 

Cream Cheese Dish 

Diameter 6 inches. 


5534 

Cream and Sugar 




Cream Pitcher 

Height 4^ inches. 

Capacity ^ half pint. 


Sugar Bowl 

Height 4*4 inches. 


7234 

Cream and Sugar 




Cream Pitcher 

Height 5^ inches. 

Capacity 1 y% half pints. 


Sugar Bowl 

Height 4 l Pi(s inches. 


7634 

Cream and Sugar 




Cream Pitcher 

Height 6 l /& inches. 

Capacity 2 half pints. 


Sugar Bowl 

Height 6 # inches. 


3933 

Dessert Plate 

Diameter 9 inches. 


3934 

Dinner Plate 

Diameter 10 inches. 




Sterling Silver 


STEAUNQ 


925/1000 Fine 






















BREAD TRAY 5834 TEA CADDY 7464 

COV’D BUTTER DISH 4134 SALT CELLARS 8333-8334 
SYRUP PITCHER 8543 SYRUP PITCHER TRAY 8534 

HOT MILK PITCHER 8614 


4235 


6634 

5334 

4004 

9534 

9333 

9334 
6834 

9434 

5733 

5733 

5734 
5734 
3134 
8614 

4384 

5°34 


Double Dish 
Bottom Dish 
Top Dish 
Entree Dish 
Entree Dish, covered 
Fish Dish 
Fruit Basket 
Fruit Dish 
Fruit Dish 
Goblet 

Grape Fruit Bowl 
Gravy Boat 
Gravy Boat Tray 
Gravy Boat 
Gravy Boat Tray 
Griddle Cake Dish 
Hot Milk Pitcher 
Ice Cream Dish 
Ice Cream Plate 


Length 1 


,-2 In- 
Length \2y in. 
Length 11^5 in. 
Diameter 14 
Length 11 y 

22 y 
12 y 
10# 

13# 


in. 


in. 

in. 


Height 

Height 

Height 


Length 

Length 

Length 

Length 


in. 

in. 

in. 

in. 

in. 


s y & 

ny 


in. 

in. 


Height 


Width g i y 
Width 9 y 
Width 8 >8 
inches. 

Width 
Width 
Width 
Width 

Width 9 y in. 

Height 634 inches. Capacity 1 y half pints. 
Diameter 7 y in. Height 3 inches. 

Width 3 y in. Height 4 y 
Width 6 inches. 


5 inches. 

2 inches. 
1 J 4 inches. 


inches. 

Height 1 y inches. 
Height 3 y inches. 
yy in. Height 3 y inches. 


9 in. 

' 3 / 


Length 7 % 
Length 8 y 
Length 8 y 
Length gy 


in. 

in. 

in. 


Height 4 inches. 


inches. 


in. 


Width 3^$ in. 
Width 7 inches. 


4 M 


Diameter 10 y in. Height 4 y inches. 
Height yy inches. Capacity 2 half pints. 


Length i 6 y in. Width 
Diameter 6 y inches. 


10 y in. Height 1 y inches. 


Sterling Silver 



925/1000 Fine 


STERLING 














BERRY BOWL 5234 COMPOTIERS 9734 - 9735 

FRUIT DISHES 9333 - 9334 


7634 

3134 

8764 

8765 

8766 

9433 

9834 

9 8 35 

9836 

9837 

9838 

9839 
3134 
8434 


7024 

6534 

6535 

6536 

6537 

8333 

8334 


Kettle 

Muffin Dish 
Napkin Ring 
Napkin Ring 
Napkin Ring 
Orange Bowl 
Oval Meat Dish (or waiter) 
Oval Meat Dish (or waiter) 
Oval Meat Dish (or waiter) 
Oval Meat Dish (or waiter) 
Oval Meat Dish (or waiter) 
Oval Meat Dish (or waiter) 
Pancake Dish 
Peppers 


Pleight 
Diameter 
Diameter 
Diameter 
Diameter 
Diameter 
Length i 2 
Length 
Length 
Length 
Length 
Length 


13 inches. Capacity 7 half pints. 
iotf in. Height 4^ inches. 
ij 4 in. Width 1 % inches. 

1in. Width 1 inches. 

ij 4 in. Width 1 % inches. 

5)4 in. Height 2)4 inches, 

in. Width 8)4 inches, 
in. Width io%e inches, 
in. Width 11 )4 inches, 
in. Width 13 inches, 
in. Width 14)4 inches. 

22 in. Width 15)4 inches. 


14 

16 

18 

20 


Diameter io )4 in. Height 4)4 inches. 


Height 4 y 2 inches. 

Pitchers—See Cream Pitchers, Hot Milk Pitcher, Syrup Pitcher, Water Pitcher. 
Plates—See Dessert Plates, Dinner Plates, Service Plate. 


Porringers 
Round Waiter 
Round Waiter 
Round Waiter 
Round Waiter 
Salt Cellar 
Salt Cellar 


Diameter 4^4 in. Height 1 )4 inches. Capacity 34 pint. 
Diameter 6 inches. 

Diameter 8 inches. 

Diameter 10 inches. 

Diameter 12 inches. 

Length 2)4 in. Width 2 in. 

Length 3% in. Width 2in. 


Height 1 inch. 

Height 1 )4 inches. 



Sterling Silver 


STEflUNG 


925/1000 Fine 
















^^ulReverO 



OVAL MEAT DISHES 9834 - 9835-9836-9837 - 9838 -Q83Q 
ROUND WAITERS 6534-6535-6536-6537 
FISH DISH 4004 BERRY SAUCER 5084 

DESSERT PEATE 3933 DINNER PLATE 3934 


8434 

Salt Shaker 


5454 

Sandwich Dish 


5733 

Sauce Boat and Tray 
Boat 

Tray 

7333 

Sauce Tureen 


7333 

Sauce Tureen 

Tray 

7334 

Soup Tureen and Tray 
Tureen 

Tray 

6446 

Square Waiter 

6 inch. 

6447 

Square Waiter 

7 inch. 

6448 

Square Waiter 

8 inch. 

6449 

Square Waiter 

9 inch. 

645° 

Square Waiter 

10 inch. 

6451 

Square Waiter 

11 inch. 

6452 

Square Waiter 

12 inch. 

6453 

Square Waiter 

13 inch. 

5534 

Sugar Bowl 


7634 

Sugar Bowl 



Height 434 inches. 

Diameter 12 in. Height 1 y% inches. 

Length 7in. Width 334 in. Height 4 1 /% inches. 

Length 834 in. Width 6 inches. 

Length 634 in- Width 3)4 in- Height 634 inches. 

Capacity 1 34 pints. 

Length 734 in. Width 634 inches. 

Length 934 in. Width 634 in. Height 8 inches. Capacity 4 pints. 
Length 11 in. Width 834 inches. 

Depth - r 6 ^ inch. 

Depth inch. 

Depth inch. 

Depth T 9 F inch. 

Depth inch. 

Depth ^ inch 
Depth inch. 

Depth inch. 

Height 434 inches. 

Height 634 inches. 


Sterling Silver 



925/1000 Fine 


STEALING 














GRAVY BOATS 5733 " 5734 CELERY TRAY 4154 

GRAVY BOAT TRAYS 5733-5734 
SAUCE TUREEN 7333 SAUCE TUREEN TRAY 7333 
COVERED ENTREE DISH 5334 

OPEN VEGETABLE DISH 4614 


8534 

8534 

7464 

7634 


3634 

3634 

4614 

4634 

7634 

6764 

6765 


Syrup Pitcher 
Syrup Pitcher Tray 
Tea Caddy 
Tea Set 
Coffee Pot 
Tea Pot 
Kettle 

Cream Pitcher 
Sugar Howl 
Waste 
Waiter 
Tea Strainer 
Tea Strainer Stand 
Tureens—See Sauce Tu 
Vegetable Dish, open 
Vegetable Dish, cov’d 
Waiters—See Round W 
Waste 

Water Pitcher 
Water Pitcher 


Pleight 54^ inches. Capacity pint. 
Length 5^ in. Width 4 y% inches. 
Height 5inches. 


Height inches. 
Height 746 inches. 
Height 13 inches. 
Height inches. 
Height 6 V* inches. 


Capacity 6 half pints. 
Capacity 5 half pints. 
Capacity 7 half pints. 
Capacity 2 half pints. 


Height 5 inches. 

Length 30^ in. Width 18^ inches. 

Length 6 ^ inches. 

Diameter 3 in. Height 1 inches, 
reen, Soup Tureen. 

Length 13^ in. Width 10 in. Height 234 inches. 
Length \o '/ 2 in. Width in. Height 7 y 2 inches, 
aiters, Oval Waiters, Square Waiters, Tea Set Waiters. 
Height 5 inches. 

Height 9 inches. Capacity 5 half pints. 

Height ioji inches. Capacity 8 half pints. 



Sterling Silver 


STERLING 


925/1000 Fine 

















Baptismal Basin 

First Church £}UChrist 
Marblehead 

The Towle Mfg Company 

would acknowledge indebtedness to 

MR. ELBRIDGE HENRY GOSS 

Author of the Life of Col. Paul Revere 

MR. BENJAMIN F. STEVENS 

Author of A Chapter of Provincial History 

MR. EDWARD W. McGLENEN 

for access to Paul Revere engravings 

and to MR. N. L. RUSH and 
MISS ADA R. CONWAY 

for other illustrations. 

Compiled and arranged by 

GEORGE P. TILTON of the Towle Mfg. Company 

Printed by 

LOUIS E. CROSSCUP & CO. 

BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A. 












































Silversmithing in Newbury port from the 
Seventeenth to the Twentieth Centuries 

in a direct line 

C j 1 iE first silversmith in Newburyport—then 
a part of Newbury — was William Moulton , 
who was in this business in i6go. He was 
succeeded by the following descendants who 
continued and developed his craft: 

Joseph Moult on , born in 1680 
William Moult on , born in 17 to 
Joseph Moulton , born in 1740 
William Moulton , born in 1772 
Joseph Moulton , born in 1814 

Anthony F. Fowle and William P. Jones , 
apprentices of Joseph Moulton , third, began 
business under the name of Fowle and Jones 
in 1857. 

Anthony F. Fowle and Edward B. Fowle 
engaged in business as A. F. Fowle and Son 
in 1873, and this partnership was the germ of 
the A. F. Fowle and Son Company , incorporated 
in 1880, which in 1882 became the Fowle 
Manufacturing Company; Anthony F. Towle 
and Edward B. Towle retiring. 

Of the incorporators of this Company in 1880 , 
but two survive , those who hold respectively the 
offices of President and Treasurer and who have 
from the beginning constituted the management. 


The Towle Manufacturing Company 
Silversmiths 

Factories: Newburyport, Massachusetts 


SALESROOMS (wholesale only) 

New York City 
17 Maiden Lane 
Silversmiths Building 


Chicago, Illinois 
42 Madison Street 
Hey worth Building 






ELECTRIC ST. RAILWAYS - 

STATE OR IMPROVED HIGHWAYS 

STEAM RAILWAYS ... 

HIGHWAYS -■ " — 


‘•u„ 


“ ^obernor 


HR)t coast territory of tfje original grant to tfie 
anb Company of tfje iHassacfjusettS Pay in i^eto Cnglanb” 









































THE 

Colonial Poofe 

of The 

Towle Mfg. Company 

SIL FER SMITHS 

* 

Which is intended to Delineate and 
Describe some ffuaint and Historic 
Places in NEWBURYPORT and Vicinity 
and show the Origin and Beauty of 
the COLONIAL Pattern of Silverware 



THE FIFTH EDITION 


















































































































































w 


y 


Compiled and arranged by 
George P. Tilton of the 
Towle Manufacturing Company 

from 

Ould Newbury: Historical and Biograph¬ 
ical Sketches 

History of Newbury , Massachusetts 
History of Newburyport, Massachusetts 
three recent and exhaustive volumes by 
John J. Currier 

The History and Present State of the 
Town of Newburyport 
by Caleb Cushing, 1826 

A Short Sketch of the History of Newbury , 
Newburyport, and West Newbury 
by Joshua Coffin, A.B.,S.H.S., 1845 

History of Newburyport 
by Mrs. E. Vale Smith, 1854 

Brief Biographical Sketches 
by Robert Noxon Toppan, 1885, and 
various local sources 




\ 


/ 



9 



Copyright, jgo8, by Towle Manufacturing Company 


Press of Springfield Printing and Binding Company, Springfield, Mass. 




































































NEWBURYPORT 

P'HE history of Newburyport is variously written, and its public affairs 
amply recorded; but this mass of material, precious as it is, only suggests 
the wealth of romance centering about the old town, locked up in journals and 
log-books, or fading away in the memories of a few relicts of earlier and more 
picturesque times. The ideals of to-day, here as everywhere else, are properly 
business and progress on the lines of modern opportunities; and this is the 
same spirit of enterprise which led our progenitors of seventy-five or one 
hundred years ago to their undertakings by sea and land, and brought them 
riches and renown in such generous measure. That they are interesting and 
picturesque is merely incidental; their purpose was as matter-of-fact and practi¬ 
cal as any to-day, and as w r ell attained; but time and changed customs lend 
charm to their personalities, while many of their deeds are records of bravery 
and greatness that would be memorable under any conditions. 

The Puritan exodus of the early seventeenth century brought from Eng¬ 
land the colonists who founded the town of Newbury, from which Newbury¬ 
port was later set off. Persecuted at home for their unwillingness to conform 
to the ritual of the established church, they chose to cross the ocean in the 
small vessels and with the scant knowledge of that day and endure the dangers 
and privations of a wilderness that they might have freedom to worship God 
in a simpler way than that prescribed for the Church of England. 

In the spring of 1635 the nucleus of the band, which had reached Boston 
the previous summer and had gone forward to Ipswich, was joined by later 
arrivals and together they made their way by water to the north bank of a 
pleasant stream which the Indians called Quascacunquen because of a waterfall 
a few miles inland. The outlet of this river, which the settlers renamed the 
Parker in honor of the Reverend Thomas Parker their spiritual leader, is 
protected from the severities of the ocean by the marshes and sand dunes of 
Plum Island, and near it the voyagers landed to take possession of their grant. 
With few materials but those of the surrounding forest—harboring wild beasts 
and hostile Indians—they applied themselves to building habitations against 

















































































4 IKitt Colonial 3$ooft of 



$lum 3telanfc JHarsrtjes tottf) i^anti ©uneg m tfje instance. Cfns tslanb ts 
about nine mtles long; anti lies; bettoeen tbe Jflerrimac anb 3pstoicf) fibers; 

the bleak New England winter, and to the cultivation of crops indispensable to 
their sustenance. In this community were graduates of Oxford University and 
men of means who ably directed its affairs, chief of which was the systematic 
parceling of the land according to the requirements of each and his ability to 
develop it, and it is noteworthy that in many cases the descendants of these 
pioneers still occupy their allotments, which are among the most prosperous 
farms of the region. Cattle were imported from Holland for stock raising on 
a large scale and thriving “plantations” as they were then termed, were soon 
established which were incorporated under the name of Newbury, from New¬ 
bury in Berkshire, England, where the Reverend Thomas Parker had lived> 
and duly represented at the General Court held at Boston to administer 
the affairs of Massachusetts Bay. That they labored wisely and well is evident; 
but the story of their trials and achievements is a reproach to the cynic 
of to-day, who reaps with little labor the benefits for which they struggled 
and hoped, but of which, for the most part, they had little realization. 

The growth of the town was to the northward, and soon from the shelter 
of the “Oldtown” hills the settlement stretched along the bank of the Merrimac, 
and, embracing eagerly the opportunities it offered, encouraged maritime enter¬ 
prises in every way, until with the building of wharves and the establishment 
of ship-yards began the era which was to give Newbury port its real power and 
position. The small vessels for fishing became numerous, and were followed 
by larger and more pretentious craft, which carried to foreign ports the products 
of the country, and brought back the rich goods and outfittings needed in the 
rapidly growing community, or distributed through surrounding and inland 
towns. Through this commerce came wealth and culture, which were reflected 
in the magnificent living of the rich merchants, while the numerous ship-masters 
returned from foreign lands with minds broadened and stimulated by contact 
with other peoples and with tastes that greatly modified the old Puritan customs. 

The differing interests of the “waterside” as the later settlement was at 
first called, and the farming districts of “Old Newbury” which enclosed it, gave 
rise to a reasonable desire on the part of the merchants and artizans of the 
former to establish a separate government more completely suited to their sec- 




















& Ftcimtg 5 



d^lbtofctm Jfyill anb ^rtbge obcr tbe ^arfee i&toer near 
tf )t lanbmg place of tfje first settlers of Jletoburp 

tional requirements, and as a result of consequent measures the town of New- 
buryport was set off and incorporated in 1764. At the time of its incorporation 
the town of Newburyport was rapidly expanding its commerce and manufact¬ 
uring industries, and its people were keenly alive to all questions and matters 
pertaining to the country in general. As a part of Newbury it had furnished 
troops for the Indian and Colonial wars, and soon after its separation it was 
aroused by the disturbances which led to the Revolution, its interests being 
especially affected by the requirements of the Stamp Act which it was among 
the first to resent by public demonstrations. With the outbreak of the war 
patriotism was universal and the cause was heartily supported from the first 
Lexington alarm. Many troops were furnished in which were officers who 
gained high rank in the Continental army and whose deeds of valor are 
national history. 

The naval forces were greatly strengthened by ships built here, and from 
here also numerous privateers sailed with letters of marque and returned with 
rich prizes to be in turn fitted out on the same errands. Many are the thrilling 
tales of capture, imprisonment, and escape told by the returning heroes, and it 
is small wonder that with the prospect of booty and adventure active young 
men took naturally to the sea. 

Commercial activity suffered a severe blow in the embargo placed on for¬ 
eign trade by the government in 1807, an d while it lasted shipping was at a 
complete standstill. A few years later, in 1811, came a second misfortune, in 
the form of the great fire which in one night destroyed sixteen acres of the bus¬ 
iness district, including nearly all the public buildings and institutions. Though 
in a measure soon recovered from, these calamities seriously checked the 
advancing prosperity, and though there were yet large importing interests they 
failed to reach their former importance, and have now, with changed methods 
of transportation, almost entirely disappeared. In their place have come mills 
and factories with their attendant needs and influences, bringing a larger if 
not a wealthier population, and it is by these that the city must continue to thrive. 

The manufacture of silverware is one of these factors, which, having its 
beginning, as shown by authentic record, in the modest enterprise of William 

















6 Wb* Colonial 1$ooft of 



i£>pencer=$ierce or ‘Garrison i>ouSe,” tittle’s: Hane, J^etohurp, built X670 

Moulton in 1689, has steadily developed until it is now one of the most impor¬ 
tant industries, and it is especially fitting that a Colonial pattern of spoons and 
like tableware be produced where one of the first silversmiths of the country 
worked, and established a business which has been continued without interrup¬ 
tion to the present day. 

During this eventful history many men* have arisen here to be enrolled 
among the world’s acknowledged benefactors, and movements of local incep¬ 
tion have attained national and world wide importance. 

The growing interest in such matters fostered by historical societies, 
improvement societies, and the various organizations of descendants of Revo¬ 
lutionary patriots, is a marked sign of the times, and to such it is hoped these 
pages will appeal. To those who visit Newburyport, they will serve as an 
introduction; and others, though far away, may realize some of the beauties 
and attractions of this old New England city. 

THE EARLY WARS. 

TN the foregoing sketch we have briefly touched upon the part of Old 
^ Newbury, and later, Newburyport, in our country’s early wars. Their 
record in the establishment and defence of our National government can be but 
outlined here, yet however incomplete this account, it seems fit at a time of 
such wide awakening to the glory of our past, when individuals recall with 
justifiable pride the services of patriotic ancestors, that the notable accomplish¬ 
ments, and not less glorious though ineffectual efforts of a community, be 
indicated for the many to whom the full history is not available. 

In the early expeditions against hostile Indians, Newbury took an impor¬ 
tant part, from the Pequod war, two years after the first settlement, in which the 
town furnished one-fifteenth of the Massachusetts quota; the King Philip war, 
in which more than one-half its eligible inhabitants were enlisted; the French 
and Indian war, when a part of its expedition against Cape Breton was cast 



























Xctoiburpport & Firinitj) 7 



Cursfon’s JffltU on tfje gffttcfjoke &toer, an earlp institution 

away and lost; to the war with the Norridgewocks, which was terminated by 
the killing of Sebastian Ralle, their French leader, by Lieut. Jaques. 

During the frequent wars between France and England, while this country 
was still a province, many men went from here, to fight in England’s cause on the 
Canadian frontier. Chief among those were Col. Moses Titcomb, Capt. William 
Davenport, and Nathaniel Knapp. The former, serving in many campaigns 
under Sir William Peppered, took part in the capture of Louisburg and the 
battle of Crown Point, where he was shot while directing his regiment in most 
effective operations. Capt. Davenport raised companies and served in two 
campaigns, being with Gen. Wolfe on the plains of Abraham, and a few days 
later at the surrender of Quebec. 

It was reserved, however, for the thrilling issues of the war of independence 
to call forth the universal and unwavering patriotism of the residents of Old 
Newbury. The story of pre-revolutionary agitation in Newburyport is one of 
steadily threatening protest, from the first application of the Stamp Act. As early 
as 1765 a stamp distributor was hung in effigy, while visiting strangers were 
subjected to rough handling, if they were not quick to proclaim their antipathy 
to this measure. Such treatment was perforce exercised upon strangers, if at 
all, as in this town only four persons were suspected of loyalism and of these 
there was proof against but one, who died before the call to war which would 
have revealed his position. This was a record perhaps unequalled. 

From that time to the actual outbreak of hostilities, Newburyport was in 
a ferment of restrained rebellion; this unity of opinion and harmony of action 
would have been impossible in a lesser cause, and was the more remarkable when 
we consider that such action meant the sacrifice of a large part of the town’s 
greatest interest, her commerce and its dependent shipbuilding, and that the 
rejection of British goods meant the retirement of the many vessels in that trade. 

This was the actual result; but instead of turning the people from their 
elected course it added to their determination, and they organized to prevent 
possible smuggling of the detested commodities. Under the wise and temperate 


















®i)e Colonial ISooft of 



PombsfjcU brought from XLoutSburg bp J&atbamel 2£ttapp, tn 1758 


leadership of the Committee of Safety, they corresponded with neighboring towns 
and the remoter colonies, and when the first blow was struck at Lexington it 
found them ready and impatient for the great struggle for civil liberty. 

It was eleven o’clock at night on the nineteenth of April, 1775, when the 
courier bearing news of the fight at Lexington reached this town; but not a 
moment was lost, and before midnight the first detachment of minute-men was 
galloping over the road, while morning found four companies on the way to the 
scene of the conflict. At the termination of this alarm these companies returned, 
but others were soon formed for regular service in the Continental army, and 
did memorable work at the battle of Bunker Hill, where two cannon from 
Newburyport were lost. 

Space forbids following these troops through this and other battles, but a 
few figures rise pre-eminent, and no account, however slight, would be complete 
without them. 

Col. Moses Little was in command of a regiment in many important battles 
of the Revolution, beginning with Bunker Hill, where he was officer of the day 
when Washington took command. On account of ill health brought on in the 
service, he declined the commission of brigadier general, and the command of 
a special expedition raised by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Col. Edward Wigglesworth was appointed to a regiment early in 1776, 
and served with distinction for three years, when he was retired at his own 
request. He took a prominent part in Arnold’s expedition on Lake Champlain, 
being third in command, and materially aided the retreat of the flotilla when it 
was hemmed in by the enemy. 

Captain, afterward Major, Ezra Lunt was another who served at Bunker 
Hill, and it is asserted that his company was formed in the broad aisle 






































































































TStefofiurgport U Fictnttg 9 


& quaint but impossible bieto of a part of J^etoburpport 

of the Old South church at the close of a sermon, in response to the 
pastor’s appeal for volunteers; and that it was the first volunteer company 
of the Continental army. 

Jonathan Titcomb was made brigadier for service in Rhode Island under 
General Sullivan, and the Newburyport Artillery Company, Thomas Thomas, 
captain, also served in that campaign. 

Here formed and embarked the important expedition under Benedict 
Arnold, then a valued officer in the patriot army, which, penetrating with great 
difficulty to Quebec, assisted Montgomery in his gallant assault. 

As it was with maritime affairs that Newburyport was chiefly identified, it 
is to the sea that we must look for her most brilliant and individual victories. 
Congress soon realized that our shipping was being rapidly exterminated by 
the armed vessels of the enemy, and issued letters of marque to assist the 
feeble and barely established navy in retaliating for these encroachments; ship 
owners here were quick to accept these privileges, and many privateers were 
fitted out and manned, often by the flower of the town’s youth; one of these, 
the Yankee Hero, the second of that name, sailing in 1775 under Capt. James 
Tracy, with twenty guns and a crew of one hundred and seventy men, including 
fifty from Newburyport’s first families, was never afterward heard from. The 
spirit that animated these bold mariners may be judged from the announcement 
made on the occasion of prayers in church for the success of the “Game Cock,” 
the first privateer to sail out of any port, that she hoped to “scour the coast of our 
unnatural enemies,” though she was a sloop of but twenty-four tons. She sailed 
from Newburyport in August, 1775, and brought several prizes into port. 

It would be difficult to estimate the number of these privateers, but that 
they were numerous and successful will be understood when it is stated that 


A North-eaft view of the Town V harbour of NewburyPorl 

A TFie Town Houfe ( R ."Meri mack River j C Rope'WaJk |.D."Fro§ Pon d. ( .E . S alil'bury I 















































































































Vbt Colonial Uoolv of 



& i^tneteentfi Century toteto of J^etofmryport 

twenty-four ships of which Mr. Nathaniel Tracy was principal owner, with a 
tonnage of 6,330 and carrying 2,800 men, captured from the enemy one hundred 
and twenty vessels amounting to 23,360 tons, and which with their cargoes were 
sold for three million nine hundred and fifty thousand specie dollars. Mr. Tracy 
was also principal owner in one hundred and ten other vessels, twenty-three of 
which were letters of marque. These vessels were closely allied to the regular 
navy, which was now gaining strength, and we find the same men alternating 
between the command of privateers and government vessels, as the fortunes of 
war permitted. 

In August, 1775, the schooner Diligent and the sloop Machias Liberty 
were armed and equipped here and employed by the General Court to protect 
the Massachusetts coast until more efficient warships could be obtained. 

The frigates Boston, Hancock, and Protection, and the brig Pickering, were 
built here, as well as the sloop of war Merrimac which was built by subscription 
and tendered to the government, when its funds were reduced, to be paid for at 
a very low price when convenient. She was commanded by Capt. Moses Brown 
of this port, a remarkably gallant sailor, and during the five years that she was 
in commission made many important captures. 

The warships Warren and Alliance — named in honor of the memorable 
treaty with France and first employed to convey Lafayette to his native 
country — were also built on the Merrimac, just above Newburyport, and 
were fitted out at this place. 

The name of Paul Jones, the intrepid and irresistible “Citizen of the 
World,” as he later styled himself, whose brilliant prowess was developed in 
the service of the United States, is connected with Newburyport through two 
of his ablest lieutenants, Henry and Cutting Lunt. 

The messieurs Lunt, cousins, first shipped in the brig Dalton, Captain 
Eleazer Johnson, which sailed, with a crew of one hundred and twenty men. 



















































































) 


TSrtfjrfmrgport Sc Ficinttg 



from Jktng’g Jtelanb, ^altfiburp 

November 15, 1776, was captured the twenty-fourth of the following December, 
by the sixty-four-gun man-of-war Reasonable, of the English Navy, and her 
crew cast into Mill Prison, Plymouth, where they remained, and suffered great 
hardships, for more than two years, and were finally released through the efforts 
of Benjamin Franklin. During this time Charles Herbert of Newburyport, 
one of the number, wrote a journal which he preserved in spite of the close 
inspection to which they were subjected. After his death this journal was 
published and forms a most interesting and valuable record of life in an English 
prison. Henry and Cutting Lunt, on obtaining their liberty, went to France 
and enlisted as midshipmen with Paul Jones, on the Bon Homme Richard then 
fitting out at L’Orient. They were speedily promoted to lieutenancies, and 
served their able commander, whom they greatly admired, in many of his fiercest 
engagements, including that with the Serapis. It was in this terrible battle, when 
Commodore Jones was fighting against heavy odds, that his success was almost 
reversed by the traitorous act of his subordinate, Captain Landais. The latter 
was in command of the ship Alliance before mentioned, and, inspired by jeal¬ 
ousy, continued under the presumable excuse of firing at the enemy, to rake 
the decks of the Bon Homme Richard , in spite of the frantic signals of the latter. 
Many Newburyport men were in the crew of the Alliance at that time, and were 
thus obliged to fire on their friends and townsmen. When Paul Jones was 
recruiting for a frigate building for him at Portsmouth, he came to Newbury¬ 
port to engage Henry Lunt, and expressed great regret when he found that 
Lieutenant Lunt had sailed on the letter of marque ship Intrepid, of this port. 
He remarked that he would prefer Mr. Lunt to any officer he had ever known. 
Many seamen from Newburyport also served under Jones in the Ranger, 
Bon Homme Richard , Alliance, and Ariel. 

While men-of-war and privateers carried brave men to seek the enemy 
abroad, those left at home were far from idle. Forts were established and 
















































i2 Tin Colonial Uooft of 



<0ne of tfje first fEabernS m J^etoburp 


maintained at the mouth of the river, and ship-building was very active, while 
the English ship Friends, which had mistaken this port for Boston, was captured 
off the bar, by the stratagem of adventurous spirits who had observed her 
actions from the town and boarded her in open boats. 

In the gathering of munitions of war Newburyport was of much service 
to the State, and on several occasions was able to supply cannon and gun¬ 
powder in considerable quantities. In the early days of the struggle, before 
the arrival of special importations the town was called upon by the provincial 
congress to send several barrels of powder to Cambridge, which the committee 
of safety was loth to do, as they felt that their small store was needed to fur¬ 
nish the batteries erected on Plum Island for the defense of the harbor. Their 
reply, however, expresses the following remarkably unselfish sentiment: 

“We are, therefore, very loath to part with the little we have unless the 
public cause renders it absolutely necessary, in which case we shall readily give 
up the last ounce, the destruction of this Town being a trivial matter in our 
estimation compared with a final defeat of the army,” 

On the seventeenth of June, 1779, three British warships entered Penobscot 
Bay and took possession of the town of Castine. News of this invasion 
reached Newburyport soon afterward and an address was immediately forwarded 
to the General Court, at Boston, noting the fact and urging an expedition to 
recover the port, together with an offer of four ships mounting seventy-two 
guns to be manned and equipped for this purpose within a week. The Board 
of war were already planning such an expedition and the proffer was gratefully 
accepted, the ships being ordered to rendezvous at Boston. The fleet, compris¬ 
ing thirty-seven vessels, sailed on the tenth of July, but various delays proved 
fatal, and the Americans were driven up the Penobscot river by a large British 
fleet which suddenly appeared just as an assault was about to be made. Many 
ships were burned to prevent their capture, and the officers and crews made 
their escape through the forest as best they could. Much suffering resulted 
and Newburyport sent a vessel to the Kennebec with provisions for the relief 












































































































to Ftrintt# 13 



of the refugees, also contributing largely to defray their further expenses in 
reaching their homes. Had the affair been directed with the vigor that charac¬ 
terized Newbury port’s initiative a different result would have been probable. 

The following, from the reply to the communication of Tristram Dalton 
and others of the Committee of Safety shows the current appreciation of 
Newburyport patriotism : 

War Office, 30th June, 1779. 

Tristram Dalton, Esq^ 

Sir: — Your Favor of the 27th Instant we received & are happy in noticing 
the Spirited Exertion of the Gentlemen in Newbury Port which have given 
animation to all who wish to promote the present important Expedition, the 
Success of which we are in opinion with you, depends on an early & vigorous 
attack. * * * We wish to pay the Tribute of applause so justly due to the 
disinterested & strenuous efforts now making by the worthy Gentlemen of 
Newburyport but the great hurry of office at this critical junction must be our 
apology for the omission ; however we must add that it evinces that genuine 
regard to the Glorious cause in which we are all embarked, for which the 
Citizens of that Town have ever been distinguished. 

We are &c 

By order of the Board 

SAM’L PHIPS SAVAGE, Prest. 


The war of 1812 found Newburyport just recovering from the fire of 1 8 11, 
and the paralyzing Embargo of previous years. In striking contrast to their 
war spirit in the Revolution, the people of this town were almost unanimously 
opposed to this second war with England, and this not for reasons of mere 
commercial policy, however much they needed business, but on the ground that 
such a war was unjustified, and that the differences might easily be settled in 
other ways. An address adopted in full town meeting was sent to the legisla¬ 
ture of Massachusetts, in which they declared their willingness to stand by the 
Constitution and defend their rights, and their equal unwillingness to take any 
aggressive part in the proposed war. These sentiments were in the main 
adhered to throughout hostilities, and in pursuance of them, forts were manned 
at the mouth of the Merrimac and at other points on Plum Island, which served 
to keep at bay several English ships that hovered around this part of the coast 
in the hope of destroying the sloop of war Wasp and gunboats Number Eighty- 
one and Number Eighty-three, then building here. 

Though privateering shared to a great degree the unpopularity of the war, 
a considerable number were fitted out here, some of which made brilliant 
records. Chief among these was the brig Decatur, Captain William Nichols, 
which, during two weeks of one voyage, captured eight vessels, four of which 

were armed. Earlier in the war Captain 
Nichols was in command of the mer¬ 
chant ship Alert, which was taken by 
the British man-of-war Semiramis, and 
ordered to Plymouth under guard from 
the latter. Before reaching that port, 
however, Captain Nichols and his men 
regained control of the ship and impris¬ 
oned the British seamen in the hold. 
Unfortunately, they soon fell in with 
another British ship, the Vestal, which 






















































i4 Colonial ISooft of 



Jfrom a bratotng mabc bp one of tf)e creto 

again took them and carried them to Portsmouth, England. This may have 
determined Captain Nichols to his latter course which was of undoubted service 
to the National cause. 

Privateering, though apparently very remunerative during the war of the 
Revolution, did not prove so in the end, except as it stimulated business for the 
time being, and the enormous fortunes gained by individuals were much reduced 
by later losses and contributions to the expense of the war. In addition to 
the many merchant ships captured by the English, twenty-two vessels, carrying 
over one thousand men, sailed from here and were never afterwards heard from. 

In the eight years from the battle of Lexington to the proclamation of peace, 
Newburyport raised for current expenses $2,522,500, which was eighty-five times 
the aggregate of appropriations for an equal period immediately preceding. 

It was at first intended to print here the names of all who served in the 
Revolutionary wars, from Newbury and Newburyport, but the impossibility 
of this becomes apparent when we find that in the neighborhood of fifteen 
hundred were in the army alone, at one time or another; while the number 
of those that were in the navy or privateers would be difficult even to estimate. 
In place of this, the publishers of this book will freely send to any of Newbury 
or Newburyport ancestry, all available record of any name submitted, or will, 
in any other way possible, identify early patriots. 

A LTHOUGH commerce and ship-building were the chief industrial interests 
of Newburyport in its early years, invention and manufacturing were by no 
means absent. Reference has been made to the antiquity of silversmithing here, 
and much more might be said of the extent of this industry, and the variety 
of articles manufactured. Some of them, as for instance silver shoe-buckles, are 
now obsolete, while silver thimbles and necklaces of gold beads, though still 
used, are not commonly the product of silversmiths. In 1824, machinery was 
invented here for the manufacture of silver thimbles, and an extensive business 
was developed in this line, but it has long since ceased to exist. 
























'Netofrurgport $$ Ftrinttg 15 



(J^ne of tfje J^ortf) €nb &>fnp f^arbs 

Many instances might be cited of great men who were trained as gold 
or silver smiths, but whose talents afterwards enriched other branches of art or 
science. In the old world, Cellini and Michael Angelo were prominent exam¬ 
ples, and, later, Paul Revere arose in this country and rendered important 
services for the welfare, comfort, and prosperity of a struggling people. In 
like manner, Jacob Perkins, an early Newburyport silversmith, was too richly 
endowed with ideas and ambition to limit his efforts to a narrow field. When 
he was but fifteen years of age the master to whom he was apprenticed died, 
and he was left in charge of the business, but through his skill in engraving he 
was engaged at the age of twenty-one to make the dies for the Massachusetts 
mint and from that turned his attention to designing machinery for coining the 
money. 

He was born July 9, 1766, and died July 13, 1849, after a life of versatile 
activity in the mechanic arts and sciences, where, in the face of triumphs that 
would have satisfied many, he continued to turn from one problem to another, 
gaining new laurels from each. One of his most important inventions was a 
machine for making nails, produced when he was but twenty-four years of age. 
At that time all nails were forged by hand, and a good workman could produce 
one thousand in a day. With his perfected machines, the daily product of one 
man was increased to ten kegs, of one hundred pounds each. 

He associated with himself Messrs. Guppy & Armstrong, of Newbury¬ 
port, who built the machines, and together they established a manufactory at 
Newbury Falls, a part of the town now called Byfield, where water-power was 
available. 

In the following extract from an advertisement in the Impartial Herald, 
Newburyport, 1795, we catch a glimpse of business methods in those days 
of quaint customs : — 

The patentee would inform the public that they have begun the manufacture 
of brads, and will have a considerable number in fourteen or twenty days. As 
some will naturally think they cannot supply the whole continent and will there- 




































i6 Colonial l$ook of 



& late fciteto of tlje toater front 

fore order from abroad, they would say that they have three engines which will 
make thirty-six hundred thousand weekly, and will add one engine each month. 

N. B. A few whitesmiths may have constant employ and liberal wages. 

Jacob Perkins, Inventor. 
Guppy & Armstrong. 

To follow in detail all the enterprises and achievements of Jacob Perkins 
would unduly extend this article, and we can only briefly refer to the most 
important. 

During the war of 1812, he was employed by the national government in 
the construction of machinery for boring out old and honey-combed cannon, 
and he invented a steam gun that discharged one thousand balls a minute. 

He demonstrated the compressibility of water, inventing the Piezometer 
for this purpose, and also invented instruments for measuring the depth of the 
sea, which he described in a treatise published in London in 1820. He also 
experimented on new types of the steam engine, in some employing steam at a 
pressure of 65 atmospheres, or 975 pounds to the square inch. 

He invented a stereotype check-plate for the reverse of bank-bills, designed 
for the prevention of counterfeiting. This was very successful, there being no 
record of an attempt to counterfeit it, whereas the practice had been very com¬ 
mon with those previously used. 

He made great improvements in the method of hardening steel and partic¬ 
ularly applied these to the production of more durable printing plates. His 
process, which is still in use, made possible the hardening of the most delicately 
engraved plates without injury, and in 1819 he went to London to bring it to 
the attention of the directors of the Bank of England. They desired to use the 
process but declined to pay the stipulated price and the bank did not get the 
benefit of it until the patent expired. Other banks and business houses did 
purchase rights however, and Mr. Perkins spent the remainder of his life in 
London, where he was known as the “American Inventor” and was honored 
with the medals of the Society of Liberal Arts. 


Proprietors | 




























& Ftrinitg n 



“Xorb” {Ktmotfjp Bexter’s resilience, built in 1 771 

Another industry inaugurated by Newburyport capital was located at the 
falls in Byfield. This was the Newburyport Woolen Company, established in 
1794, the first company incorporated for that business in the state, and by some 
authorities named as the first woolen manufactory in America. The carding 
and other machines for its equipment were built by Standring, Guppy, & Arm¬ 
strong, in Newburyport, being set up in “Lord” Timothy Dexter’s stable; and 
were the first made in this country. 

At Newbury a fulling mill had been in operation since 1687, when it was 
established by Peter Cheney, who sold it to John Pearson, by whose descend¬ 
ants it was operated as a fulling mill and blanket factory until destroyed by fire. 
It was succeeded by the present mill, established by the Pearsons, who are 
most prominently identified with this industry. 

At Byfield, also, machinery for making wooden shoe-pegs was invented 
by Paul Pillsbury. This article completely revolutionized the manufacture 
of shoes. 

Other industries that at the beginning of this century contributed largely 
to Newburyport’s prosperity, were: Cordage-making, employing fifty hands; 
boot and shoe making (Newbury and Newburyport together), employing 
upwards of one hundred and fifty hands, these being scattered in the little 
shops that dotted the country in that day ; comb-making, the product of which 
was nearly $200,000, annually; tobacco-manufacture, in the form of snuffs and 
cigars; tanning; morocco-dressing; wool-pulling; carriage-building; and not 
least of all, distilling. Rum was a very important commodity, freely drunk by 
high and low; and few advertisements of merchandise were seen without the 
announcement of a choice hogshead of rum, generally in large type at the head 
of the list. At the close of the last century there were ten distilleries in active 
operation here, contributing to the reputation of New England rum. 

Another notable feature was Newburyport’s importance as a publishing 
centre, and the extent of its retail book-trade. 

The first newspaper here was established in 177 3 > by Isaiah Thomas and 
Henry W. Tinges, who, on December 4 of that year, issued the first number 
of the Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet. 













































is &f)e Colonial ISoolt of 



Clipper sfljip Breabnaugfjt 

As no complete record is available, only a few of the books published here 
can be alluded to, but some of these were of much importance. 

The first system of Arithmetic published in this country was the work of 
Nicholas Pike, a Newbury port school-master, and was published here in 1787. 
This was a very comprehensive work, and was an authority for many years. 
General Washington expressed his gratification at this purely American product. 

Blunt’s famous “ Coast Pilot ” and other nautical works were published 
here by Blunt & March, who also issued many other volumes, including 
medical works, Bibles, Testaments, hymn books, and other religious works, 
such as “ Christ’s Famous Titles and Believer’s Golden Chain, together with 
Cabinet of Jewels.” 

Other works were: Quarles’ “Emblems and Hieroglyphics of the Life of 
Man,” 1799, with copperplate engravings; “The Life of Nelson”; ‘‘The Life 
of Paul Jones”; “The Poetical Works of Peter Pindar, a Distant Relation 
of the Poet of Thebes”; the “Idler,” in two volumes; and Volume II of 
“Letters Written by the late Right Honorable Philip Dorman Stanhope, Earl 
of Chesterfield,” Volume I of which was published at Boston. 

The publishers of these were Angier March successor to Blunt & March, 
Thomas & Whipple, and John Mycall. 

An evidence of the magnitude of this business is the extensive advertising 
of books in the local papers of that time, and the fact that one of the stores 
burned in the great fire of 1811 contained a stock of $30,000 worth of books. 

Newburyport is, or has been, more or less identified with some of the most 
prominent educational institutions of the present, first among which is Harvard 
College. The town of Newbury contributed to the support of this institution 
in its earliest years, and had the honor of claiming its first graduate, Benjamin 
Woobridge of this town being placed at the head of the class of nine who 
completed the course in T642. Position in the class was determined by the 
standing or rank of the families of members, a method in keeping with the 
rigid social distinctions of those days. 
















to Firinitg 19 



Newburyport furnished seven professors to Harvard College, including 
Samuel Webber, who was made president in 1806, and Cornelius Conway Felton, 
who was similarly honored in i860. Other college presidents born here were 
Samuel C. Bartlett of Dartmouth, Leonard Woods of Bowdoin, and Benjamin 
Hale of Hobart. 

Dummer Academy, Newbury, was founded by Governor Dummer in 1761, 
and was the first institution of its kind in operation in America. It has hac ;a 
notable history, and is still in a flourishing condition. 


EMINENT MEN OF EARLY TIMES RESIDENT HERE, NOT 
ELSEWHERE MENTIONED. 

Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, the subject of Whittier’s poem of which the 
quotation on the first page of this book is the beginning, was born in England 
in 1652, during the temporary residence of his parents in that country, his 
father being Henry Sewall, one of the first settlers of Newbury, and one 
of the most learned and respected men of his time. He married Hannah Hull, 
daughter of John Hull, master of the Massachusetts Mint, referred to on 
another page as the first silversmith in Boston, who presented the bride with 
a dowry equal to her weight, in silver sixpences. 

Theophilus Bradbury, a jurist of distinction and member of Congress 
under Washington’s administration, was born here in 1739. He was also 
justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 

Charles Jackson, a son of Jonathan Jackson, was born in 1775, an d became 
an eminent lawyer and justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 

Patrick Tracy Jackson, born in Newburyport in 1780. Merchant and 
originator, with his brother-in-law, Francis C. Lowell, of cotton-cloth manu¬ 
facture in America. They invented machinery, and established a mill at 
Waltham which was in successful operation many years, and was said to be the 
first manufactory in the world to combine cotton spinning and weaving, under 















HEi)t Colotual Itoofe of 



3ntuan pull Jfarm 

one roof. Later, Mr. Jackson purchased the entire site and water privilege of 
the present city of Lowell, which he founded, and named in honor of his 
brother-in-law and former partner, then dead. In 1830, Mr. Jackson, in 
company with Mr. Boot, conceived the project of constructing a railroad in 
New England, and, overcoming great obstacles, completed it in 1835. This 
was the Boston & Lowell Railroad, now a part of the Boston & Maine 
system. 

Charles Toppan, the first president of the American Bank Note Company, 
was born in 1796, and studied engraving in Philadelphia. He was later associ¬ 
ated with Jacob Perkins, with whom he went to England to introduce improve¬ 
ments in bank-note engraving. In 1858, he organized the American Bank 
Note Company of New York, with branches in Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, 
New Orleans, and Montreal. 

Jacob Little, son of a prosperous merchant of Newburyport, was born 
in 1797, and at an early age entered the employ of a prominent merchant of 
New York. He afterwards became a member of the New York Stock Exchange, 
and was the acknowledged head of the financial world of that city. 

William Wheelwright, one of Newburyport’s greatest benefactors, was 
born in 1798. He was a ship-master, and was cast away on the coast of Brazil 
in 1823; which led him to settle and engage in business in South America, in 
the development of which he became a prominent factor. He established 
steamship lines and built the first railroads on that continent, overcoming 
tremendous natural obstacles, and finally accumulating great wealth. His 
statue in bronze stands in the public square of Valparaiso, Chile, the gift of 
the people, in recognition of his achievements. He always retained his attach¬ 
ment for and interest in his native town, and in his will provided for the 
establishment of a scientific school here, when the fund, which now amounts to 
nearly $500,000, should be sufficient. A part of the income of this is now 
used to defray the expenses of a scientific education for such graduates of the 
High School as desire it, some being maintained in Europe for this purpose. 




























IStefofmrgjMjrt Sc Ftrimt# 



II 


pPjpngPG 


■^munrmr 


Cfce first ?£olfe ®abern 

Caleb Cushing, the eminent lawyer and statesman, was born in Salisbury 
in the year 1800, but came to Newbury port with his parents at the age of two 
years. He was educated for the bar, and early achieved distinction in his 
profession. He served four terms as a member of Congress, was minister to 
China and to Spain, attorney-general of the United States under President 
Pierce, and represented this country at the Geneva tribunal. He was also 
commissioned brigadier-general in the Mexican war, and held many other 
important offices. 

Others whom Newburyport has been proud to call her sons by birth or 
adoption are: 

Right Reverend Thomas M. Clarke, Bishop cf Rhode Island, born here 
in 1812. 

Benjamin Perley Poore, journalist and author, born in 1820 at Indian Hill 
Farm, Newbury, the home of his ancesters for many generations. 

General A. W. Greeley, of the United States Army, commander of the 
Arctic Expedition bearing his name. He was born in 1844. 

William C. Todd, founder of the Free Reading Room of this city, and 
donor of $50,000 to maintain a free newspaper reading room in the Boston 
Public Library. Mr. Todd was born in Atkinson, N. H., in 1823 ; and was 
for many years principal of the Female High School of this city. 

Josiah Little, founder of the Public Library. 

Michael Simpson, by whose liberality the Public Library building was 
greatly enlarged and improved. 

George Peabody, the famous London banker, whose benefactions amounted 
to millions of dollars. Mr. Peabody received his early business training here 
in the employ of his brother, but was obliged to leave Newburyport after 
the great fire of 1811, which he was one of the first to discover. He endowed 
the Newburyport Public Library with a fund of $15,000. 

James Parton, historian and biographer. For many years he owned and 
occupied the house on the northeasterly corner of High and Oakland Streets. 






























































































22 OTk Colonial Uoofe of 



Wi)t picturesque centre of a primtttoe inbustrp 

NOTES. 

The quaint old sign of the Wolfe Tavern is a pleasing reminder of the 
ancient institution of that hostelry, as well as a token of early patriotism and 
tribute to military greatness. 

Captain William Davenport brought back from the plains of Abraham 
enthusiastic appreciation of his late commander, General Wolfe, who fell a sacri¬ 
fice to bravery in the hour of his hard-earned victory. When, therefore, in 
1762, Captain Davenport transformed his dwelling near the lower end of Fish 
(now State) Street to a tavern, he dedicated it to his lamented leader, and placed 
in front a swinging sign, elaborately carved, with a portrait of General Wolfe 
surrounded by a wreath entwined with scrolls, the whole appropriately painted 
and gilded. This highly decorative emblem was freely threatened with destruc¬ 
tion, during the Revolutionary war, when only the hatred of all things British 
was thought of and former pride in the achievements of Wolfe forgotten. 
While all other reminders of royalty were destroyed, and notwithstanding the 
declaration of a local newspaper, that it was an 
“insult to the inhabitants of this truly repub¬ 
lican town,” it remained in place until destroyed 
by the great fire of 1 811. The present sign was 
erected in 1814, when the tavern was removed 
to its present location. 

Before the introduction of railroads, the 
Wolfe Tavern was the property, and a station 
of the Eastern Stage Company, which ran 
daily trips with relays of horses, to Boston and 
Portsmouth ; and the arrival and departure of 
the stages, which, it may be noted, were all 
built in Newbury port, were events of consider¬ 
able importance, and attended with consequent 
excitement. The Eastern Stage Company was 
the forerunner of the Eastern Railroad Com¬ 
pany, which road is now operated by the 
Boston & Maine Railroad Company. 

The brick building on the corner of State 



















& Ftrinttg 



and Harris Streets, which was the nucleus of the present 
hotel building, was first occupied as a residence by Colonel 
John Peabody, uncle of George Peabody, and then a mer¬ 
chant in this town. 

Saint Paul’s Church of Newburyport has the distinc¬ 
tion of being the oldest in the Protestant Episcopal diocese 
of Massachusetts, and one of its early ministers, the 
Right Reverend Edward Bass, D.D., was the first bishop 
of this diocese, which then included Rhode Island and 
New Hampshire. 

The beginning of this parish was due to the removal 
of the Second Parish church of Newbury, in 1711, from 
its meeting-house near Sawyer’s hill to a new one at the 
west end of the parish. The parishioners living near the 
old meeting-house desired to continue to worship in it, 
but it was torn down and removed in the night-time by 
a company of men and boys from the neighborhood of 
the new meeting-house. A new building was then begun 
near the site of the old one, but the dominant body of the 
parish appealed to the General Court to prevent this, and 
those concerned in its erection were formally directed to 
desist from their work until a hearing on the matter should 
be held by the Court. This was followed by a counter¬ 
petition from the builders for permission to “go on with 
their meeting-house,” in reply to which the General Court 
repeated its order, to be served by the sheriff, and also 
ordered that officer to summon the delinquents to appear 
before the Court to answer for their contempt. Not to 
be circumvented, the offenders appealed to the Church 
of England, and under its authority and with its ritual 
made bold to complete their building, which they named 
Queen Anne’s Chapel, and sever their allegiance to the Second Parish. King’s 
Chapel of Boston, then the only Protestant Episcopal church in this section 

of the country, supplied one of its ministers tem¬ 
porarily, and then the Reverend John Lambton, 
chaplain of her Majesty’s ship “Phenix” was 
transferred to this parish and remained in charge 
of it nearly a year when he was relieved by the 
arrival of the Reverend Henry Lucas from Eng¬ 
land in September, 1715. Thus, within a century, 
descendants of the Puritan settlers sought the 
protection of the church their forefathers had 
left England to be rid of. 

The parish prospered and in 1738 began 
the erection of a larger building in the more 
thickly settled part of the town, which they 
named Saint Paul’s Church. This for twenty- 
five years shared with Oueen Anne’s Chapel the 
services of the Reverend Matthias Plant and his 

•Jonathan Plummer . . T , i T* J J TJ 

“ Poet Laureate to < Lord' Timothy Dexter" assistant and successor, Reverend rLdward Bass, 



A Newburyport 
Souvenir Spoon 
of the Revolution 











®i)t Colonial of 



Cf )t subject of a poem bp ^annab <@oultr 

but in 1766 the older building was abandoned and the parish concentrated 
at Saint Paul’s Church. By the conversion of King’s Chapel at the time of 
the Revolution, Saint Paul’s Church, which at that time modified its rubric to 
suit republican principles, became the oldest of the diocese. 

The Pre-Revolutionary disturbances in France extended to that country’s 
West Indian possessions and the wealthy planters of those colonies were obliged 
to flee with their families for personal safety. From 1788 to 1793 large numbers 
of these emigres came to Newburyport from Martinique and Guadeloupe in the 
vessels plying between those islands and this port, and for some years they were 
an esteemed element in the community. Some of these died before the crisis 
in their national affairs was reached, and are buried here, and a few became per¬ 
manent residents, but the greater number returned to their homes and posses¬ 
sions when tranquillity was restored. 

The famous Siamese twins Chang and Eng, were brought to this country 
from Tringana, Siam, by Captain Abel Coffin of the Newburyport ship Sachem, 
and after their first exhibition and subsequent tour of Europe they visited here 
on several occasions. The following announcement concerning them is from 
the Newburyport Herald September fourth, 1829. 

Double Siamese Boys about 18 years old (lately arrived in ship 
Sachem Capt. A. Coffin) the most valuable and extraordinary natural 
curiosity ever before presented the Public will be exhibited in Wash¬ 
ington Hall, Green Street, on Monday & Tuesday next only. 

Hours assigned for exhibition each day from 9 to 1 o’clock a. m. 
from 3 to 6 o’clock p. m. 

Price of admission 25 cents, children under 12 years of age 
half price. 

(For farther particulars see Bills.) 








Wtctntty 



£ln abanboneb ^Limestone <©uarrp of carlp baps; 

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences had its inception here and 
was incorporated in 1780 with leading citizens of Newburyport, Salem, and 
Boston as members. It has done much to promote scientific investigation and 
has published many volumes of research in this field. Its present headquarters 
are in the building of the Massachusetts Historical Society at Boston. 

Two Newburyport men, members of Captain Richard Titcomb’s com¬ 
pany, were of the number that conveyed Benedict Arnold to the British ship 
Vulture, in September, 1780, and scorned his offer of promotion, if they would 
follow him in his then announced desertion from the American to the English 
forces. 

One of the ancient institutions of Newburyport is the office of town-crier. 
It is now neither appointive nor elective, the present incumbent having, years 
ago, succeeded to it, and continued without opposition. In early times he 
commanded attention with a drum, and one of his duties was to escort petty 
culprits through the principal streets, calling attention to their offences, which 
they also were sometimes required to proclaim. The business of the present 

picturesque exemplar is, however, mostly 
confined to announcements of excursions 
or entertainments, varied with the promo¬ 
tion of retail trade, and his “ Hear what 
I have to say!” is preceded by the clang 
of a large hand-bell. It is doubtful if 
this functionary survives anywhere else in 
the United States. 

The Curfew Bell, which has recently 
given its name to a movement to compel 
the retiring of young people from the 
streets at nine o’clock in the evening, has, 
with the exception of a short interval in 




















26 Zht Colonial ISooft of 





the last decade, been 
rung here nightly for 
one hundred and 
ninety-two years, and 
it is indeed a curfew, 
or signal for retiring, 
for many people. 

The first vessel to 
display the American 
flag on the river 
Thames,was theCount 
de Grasse, Captain 
Nicholas Johnson, of 
this port. 

A Newburyport 

ship, the Indus, was also the first to sail from this country to Calcutta, after the 
war of 1812, and made the return trip before news of her arrival there had 
otherwise reached here. 

A few months later in the same year, another vessel, the Dryad, sailed 
from here to carry to Calcutta the first five missionaries of the American Board 
of Foreign Missions, an organization established here by a Newburyport and 
a Salem clergyman, but which has long since outgrown its early home and re¬ 
moved to broader fields. 

The history of ship-building at this port, includes many items of general 
interest. While it is impossible, through imperfect registration, to ascertain 
the exact number of vessels built on the Merrimac, it is probable that, from 
first to last, the number would be upwards of two thousand. 

The water-line model which enabled a designer to more easily and 
accurately ascertain the lines and sections of his creation, was invented here by 
a prominent ship-builder, Orlando Merrill, in 1794. The original model of 
this invention is now preserved in the rooms of the New York Historical 
Society. 

In 1853 the celebrated clipper ship Dreadnaught was built here, a vessel 
whose remarkable record of crossing the Atlantic in a little more than thirteen 
days, was equal to those of many steamships. 

Newburyport closed the record of ship-building in Massachusetts, with 
the launching, in 1882, of the Mary L. Cushing, the last vessel of that class 
built in this state. 

Although the various socie¬ 
ties of Daughters of the Revolu¬ 
tion are of comparatively recent 
formation, the spirit which they 
represent was manifest in New¬ 
buryport as early as 1796, as 
shown from the following from 
the Impartial Herald of that 
year. 

Newburyport, February 26, 

1796. Female patriotism. A 
number of ladies belonging to 


































































































$c Ftrinitg 27 


this town met on Mon¬ 
day, in honor of the 
day that gave birth to 
the man “ who unites 
all hearts,” and dedi¬ 
cated a few glasses to 
the following truly 
sentimental and highly 
republican toasts. 




,<u\ , a: 





1. May our beloved 


President preside at 


the helm of govern- 


ment longer than 

*• >'\V ,_ _ 

we shall have time 


to tell his years. 






^ **■-«*«. 




2. Mrs. Washington, respected consort of our illustrious chief. 

3. May the fair patriots of America never fail to assert their independence, 
which nature equally dispenses. 

4. Maria Charlotte Corday. May each Columbian daughter, like her, be 
ready to sacrifice their life to liberty. 

5. The day that saw the wondrous hero rise shall, more than all our sacred 
days, be blessed. 


'^XT'HILE the purpose of this book is to give, in connection with Colonial 
* * silverware, an outline of the Colonial and Revolutionary history of 
Newburyport, it is also designed to note briefly some of the chief points of 
interest in neighboring cities and towns. This reference to its main object is 
made that any seeming lack of proportion between the representation of a place 

and its known importance may 
be understood, and the random 
character of the selections ac¬ 
counted for. 

Salem is particularly rich in 
points of interest around which 
history or tradition has left its 
charm of romance or pall of 
tragedy. It was here that 
occurred the first armed resis¬ 
tance of the Revolution, when, 
on the 26th of February, 1775, 
the march of three hundred 
British troops sent by General 
Gage to seize munitions of 
war was arrested. From here 
came Colonel Timothy Picker¬ 
ing, one of Washington’s most 
trusted advisers, and to whom 
was given successively every 
office in his cabinet, when the 
latter became president. 






m...y 4 










































'Qftt Colonial 9 $ooft of 



OTfjere a great institution fm& its fotrtf) 

In addition to its wealth of history and the memories of its once famous 
commerce, its heroes of war and statecraft, and its merchant princes, Salem is 
remembered and particularly visited as the home of Hawthorne and the scene 
of several of his romances. His birthplace, the home of his youth, the 
“H ouse of Seven Gables,” the “ Grimshaw House,” and Custom House, as 
well as the many other houses and haunts immortalized in his writings, bring 
to the thoughtful visitor a vivid sense of personal acquaintance, not to be 
gained alone by the reading of his works. Other cities have historic 
associations and fine old architecture, have had even the witches— of painful 
memory — but only Salem can show these originals of storied scenes. 

PHOUGH small in point of population, Marblehead has strongly marked 
characteristics, and has played a very important part in the history of our 
country. Like the other seaport towns of northern Massachusetts, it furnished 
many men for the navy of the Revolution, and none were braver or hardier 
than the sons of this rocky and picturesque hamlet. Chief among these was 
Captain Mugford, to whose memory and that of his crew a memorial has been 
erected. He captured, off Boston harbor, in May, 1776, a British ship, laden 
with military supplies ; but, after sending this safely to port, was the same day 
killed, while defending his ship against an attack of the enemy. 

Here lived Agnes Surriage, beloved of Sir Henry Frankland, and here 
also is the scene of Whittier’s poem of “ Skipper lreson’s Ride,” though the 
story is doubtless largely imaginary. 

The old town is said to have been a resort of pirates and buccaneers from 
the Spanish Main, but it is pleasanter to contemplate its visitors of to-day, the 
magnificent yachts that rendezvous here from the coast. 





















































































tNfetofcurggort $c Ftrinttg 29 



Cfje tome of prominent Gloucester families, puilt about 1705 

A CROSS the harbor from Marblehead is Beverly, the two arranged like 
^ sentinels, guarding the approach to Salem, which is further inland. 
Marblehead and Beverly divide other honors, for the regiment commanded 
by Colonel Glover was recruited from both places, and took an active part in 
the Revolution. It was at one time stationed at Beverly, to cover the move¬ 
ments of British men-of-war lying in the outer harbor. This regiment was 
frequently selected by Washington for enterprises requiring great courage and 
skill, as instanced by its responsible part in the evacuation of New York by 
the American army in 1776. Its most notable achievement, however, was 
the memorable passage of the Delaware, when, on the night of Christmas, 1776, 
Washington’s army was enabled, under the skilful guidance of these men of 
Marblehead and Beverly, to cross in safety the stormy and ice-filled river, and 
capture at Trenton a large part of the British army. 

Beverly was bombarded by the British ship Nautilus, but suffered no 
great damage. In return, her privateers, which were early commissioned, 
brought in many valuable prizes and materially aided the American cause. 

A T the time of the Revolution and for the first 
^ ^ half of this century, the whole of Cape Ann was 
known as Gloucester. Since that time the towns of 
Rockport and Annisquam have been set off, thus 
reducing the territory of Gloucester. 

Fishing, in which it is now supreme, has always been 
its leading industry, and the “Captains Courageous ” of 
Kipling were no less so when courage meant the braving 
of hostile guns as well as tempest and rocky shores. 
































































30 ® f>e (Colonial Uoofe of 



Jfireplace in WUfyittitv’si birthplace 



A Newburyport privateer, the Yankee Hero, reinforced by Gloucester 
sailors, was captured, off the Cape, by a British man-of-war, disguised as a 
merchantman, after a hard-fought battle. Among the noted patriots of those 
days, Captain Harraden of Gloucester was a famous and successful fighter 
who did great service for his country. The souvenir spoon commemorating 
this event, shown on page 23, was probably the first of this character in 
America. 

On the southerly side of the entrance to Gloucester harbor lies the reef 
of Norman’s Woe — remembered in Longfellow’s “Wreck of the Hesperus” 
— the ceaseless peal of the floating bell warning the mariner of its menacing 
presence, as when, on 
that fatal night of old, 
the skipper’s daughter 
cried: — 


w O father! I hear the 
church-bells ring, 

O say, what may it be?” 


TJ AVERH ILL, 
which is to-day a 
populous and busy city, 
lacked the advantages 
of the coast towns, and 
although settled in 1640, 
did not reach its present 
development until the 
era of manufacturing 
had superseded that of 





































































































Utotoimrgport & Ftrinitg 31 




commerce. It was, 
however, notably ac¬ 
tive in the events lead¬ 
ing up to the Revolu¬ 
tion, and furnished, 
both promptly and 
willingly, its full quota 
of men and funds for 
that war. 

In earlier times, 

H averhill suffered 
severely from Indian 
attacks, its inland situ¬ 
ation rendering it par¬ 
ticularly liable to this 
danger. The most 
famous of these took 
place on the fifteenth 
of March, 1697, when 
thirty-nine persons 
were killed orcaptured, 
and a number of houses burned. Among those taken prisoners were, Hannah 
Duston — whose husband, Thomas Duston, fought his way to safety, with 
seven of their eight children — and Mary Neff, her nurse. After traveling 
some days and suffering many hardships, they were brought to an island in 
the Merrimac, situated a few miles above what is now Concord. Early on 
the morning of April 30, while the savages all slept, Mrs. Duston aroused her 
nurse and an English youth who had been longer a prisoner, and, arming 
themselves with tomahawks, they killed their captors, to the number of ten, a 
squaw and youth escaping. After scuttling all the canoes but one, they pro¬ 
visioned that and started back to Haverhill, but, before going far, decided to 
return and scalp the Indians, as evidence of their deed; this they did, finally 
reaching home in safety. One of the features of Haverhill is the Hannah 

Duston monument commem¬ 
orating this event. 


/^\NE of the most interest- 
ing of neighboring cities 
is Portsmouth. From the 
earliest time it has been forti¬ 
fied, and later its fine deep har¬ 
bor led to the establishment 
of the Navy Yard and attend¬ 
ant government institutions. 

All the prevalent senti¬ 
ments of liberty and independ¬ 
ence noted in accounts of other 
places were characteristic of 
Portsmouth, though the town 
had probably a greater num- 























®ftc Colonial Uoolt of 



<0ne of tfje olbesit fjou^es? of Jjjortemoutf), 35. 

ber of prominent loyalists than any other, save Boston. They were roughly 
handled by the patriots, and at the outbreak of open hostilities were obliged 
to seek safety elsewhere. 

One of the first decisive acts of the Revolution, if not the first, was 
successfully consummated here, on the night of December 14, 1774, four 
months before the battle of Lexington. 

On that night, a party of men, anticipating the garrisoning of Fort Wil¬ 
liam and Mary, at Newcastle, by the forces of the king, descended on the 
fort, surprising and overpowering the sentinel and commandant, forced its 
surrender, and removed to Portsmouth upwards of one hundred barrels of gun¬ 
powder and fifteen of the lightest cannon. The munitions were effectively 
used in the Revolution, a large part of the gunpowder being sent to Cambridge. 

Portsmouth was markedly aristocratic in early times, and the elegant 
Colonial mansions that still adorn its streets are reminders of the days of 
affluence, when, like Newburyport and Salem, it gloried in a large foreign 
trade or hoarded the gains of privateering. 

A FEW miles from Newburyport, in the town of Amesbury, is the home of 
^ Whittier’s later years, and from there, in 1892, he was buried, die simple 
service attended by a gathering of genius such as few occasions could attract. 

An interesting reminder of Whittier, in Amesbury, is the “ Captain’s 
Well,” the subject of his poem of that name. 

It was constructed by Captain Bagley, in or about 1794. 

“ I will dig a well for the passers-by, 

And none shall suffer from thirst, as I.” 

A S active revolution had its beginning in the battles of Concord and 
^ Lexington, battles which filled the roads from far and near with 
hurrying minute-men, pressing eagerly to the aid of their heroic com¬ 
patriots, we have included illustrations of a few of the many historic 







































ISfefofittrgpotrt & Ftrinttg 33 



Parrett pjouse, Concorb, fjome of Col. James Parrctt 


buildings and commemorative monuments identified with this uprising, 
with which these towns abound. 

All the towns here written of, and many others, share in a degree, with 
Concord and Lexington, the glory of these monuments ; for, while only those 
favored by proximity arrived in time to take part in the fighting, all responded 
immediately to the alarm. 


SOME PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN NEWBURY- 
PORT AND VICINITY WHICH MAY BE REACHED BY 
ELECTRIC CARS. 


Newburyport is situated at the mouth of the Merrimac River, which 
joins the Atlantic on the north shore of Massachusetts Bay, thirty- 

seven MILES FROM BOS¬ 
TON, AND IS REACHED BY 
TWO DIVISIONS OF THE 

Boston and Maine 
Railroad, from the 
Northern Union Sta¬ 
tion, Causeway Street, 
Boston. 

Parker river, named 
for Rev. Thomas Parker, 
one of the first settlers 
who landed on its north 
shoreini635. Its Indian 
name, Quascacunquen, 
signified waterfall. It is 
about four miles from the 
railroad station. 

A boulder on the 
river bank,a quarter-mile 
















































































































34 Colonial ISooft of 



^elb by Carl Jjlercp burtng tfje Hattie of Lexington. ?Butlt, 1695 


below the bridge, marks the landing-place of the first settlers, and a monument 
on the Lower Green near by commemorates this event. 

The picturesque Spencer-Pierce house, also called the “ Garrison House,” 
built by Daniel Pierce about 1670, on a farm of four hundred acres laid out 
to John Spencer in 1635. 

“Trayneing Green,” laid out in 1642. Scene of the encampment of 
Quebec expedition under Benedict Arnold, September, 1775, and location of a 
boulder and bronze tablet commemorating the event. 

The Noyes House on Parker Street, built about the year 1646 by 
Rev. James Noyes, associate pastor with Rev. Thomas Parker. Near by is 
the old elm of Newbury, a tree of romantic origin, and the subject of a poem 
by Hannah Flagg Gould. 

The Coffin house, High Street, occupied by 
Tristram Coffin, in 1653, and afterwards the 
residence of Joshua Coffin, the historian of New¬ 
bury, also remembered as Whittier’s “ Village 
Schoolmaster.” Still occupied by descendants of 
the first owner. 

The Illsley house. High Street, near head 
of Marlborough Street, built in 1670, and at one 
time a tavern. Near by, from 1653 to 1755, was 
the Blue Anchor Tavern, the most important of 
early inns. 

House No. 65 High Street, owned and occu¬ 
pied by Caleb Cushing at the time of his death. 

First Presbyterian meeting-house, Federal 
Street, erected in 1756, and rebuilt in 1856. 






























TStetoimrgport & Finnttg 35 





:ir,W 


V'.Vix' 

ft&v: 




©Seb as a ^osfpital after tfje Pattle of Hunker 1NU. putlt about 1760 

Here Rev. George Whitefield, the great evangelist, preached, and was buried 
in a vault under the pulpit. 

Nos. 3 and 5 School Street, the house where William Lloyd Garrison 
was born. 

Nos. 9 and 11 School Street, the house where Rev. George Whitefield died. 

Bombshell, on a stone post at the corner of Middle and Independence 
Streets. Brought from Louisburg by Nathaniel Knapp, after the capture of 
that fortress, in 1758. 

Market Square. On the southeasterly side stood the house owned by 
William Morse, whose wife, Goody Morse, was, in 1679, convicted of witchcraft 
and sentenced to death; but, the people becoming more enlightened, the 
sentence was not executed. This was probably the first case of trial and 
conviction for witchcraft in Massachusetts. 

In the centre of the square was the meeting-house of the First Reli¬ 
gious Society, the spire of which, being struck by lightning, was studied by 
Benjamin Franklin and became the subject of a communication read before 

the Royal Society of London. 

Rooms of Newburyport Ma¬ 
rine Society, State Street, organized 
in 1772; containing curiosities 
gathered by members. Open to 
visitors from 10 to 12 a. m., 
2 to 4 p. M. 

No. 21 Charter Street, for 
many years the residence of Han¬ 
nah Flagg Gould, author of several 
volumes of prose and poetry. 



- -■ 'STAflieTYOUR GROUND 

A - 1 .ffiSoONT /•&£ UNLESS FIRED UPON’. 

T lF THEY HAVE^&L|||pri 

LET )X'BEGIN HERE:!i'V>' . 

























































































36 t!Rbe Colonial Uooft of 



€ratgte=HongfeUoto ^ottsfc. Washington's fjeabguarters, 1775=6. 

Public Library building, erected in 1771 by Patrick Tracy, a prominent 
merchant, as a residence for his son, Nathaniel Tracy, also a merchant and 
ship owner who attained wide prominence by reason of the magnitude of his 
operations and the magnificence of his living. Washington occupied apart¬ 
ments in this house in 1789, and Lafayette was entertained here in 1824. In 
1865 the building was purchased and adapted for the present use, and was 
added to in 1882, by the generosity of Michael Simpson. On the first floor 
are: a free reading-room, maintained for many years through the liberality of 
William C. Todd, Esq., who, on his death in 1903, endowed this and the news¬ 
paper reading-room of the Boston Public Library; and the rooms of the His¬ 
torical Society of Old Newbury, where visitors may inspect objects of historic 
interest. Some of the rooms on this floor retain their original character. 

Dalton House, No. 95 State Street, built in 1750, and occupied by 
Tristram Dalton, the first senator to Congress from Massachusetts. Was 
later occupied by Moses Brown, a wealthy merchant. Now owned and occu¬ 
pied by the Dalton Club. 

Frog Pond and Bartlett Mall, now included in Washington Park, were 
first improved in 1800, through the exertions and liberality of Captain 
Edmund Bartlett. Further improved in 1888 from plans by Charles Eliot. 

The Court House stands on this Mall, and nearly opposite is the Put¬ 
nam Free School building, one of the earliest and most liberal institutions of 
its kind. At the easterly end of the Park is a statue of Washington by 
J. Q. A. Ward, presented to the city by Daniel I. Tenney. 

House No. 34 Green Street, built in 1879 hy Hon. Theophilus Parsons, 
an eminent jurist, with whom John Ouincy Adams and Robert Treat Paine 
studied law, and occupied by him until 1800. 



































& Firinitg 37 


Brown Square, given to the city by Moses Brown in 1802. The statue 
of William Lloyd Garrison was presented to the city by William H. Swasey, 
Esq., and is by David M. French of Newburyport. 

Meeting-house of the First Religious Societv, Pleasant Street, built in 
1800. A fine example of early architecture, with characteristic interior. 

High Street, St. Paul’s Church. The first building was erected here in 
1738, and was taken down in the year 1800, to make room for the present 
edifice. It has many interesting architectural features, one of which is the 
bishop’s mitre surmounting the belfry which was put up to signify its change 
to the cathedral of the diocese, and also a bell made by Paul Revere. 

Dexter house, No. 201 High Street, built by Jonathan Jackson in 1772, 
and later purchased and occupied by “ Lord” Timothy Dexter, a wealthy and 
eccentric character, by whom it was adorned with many wooden statues, since 
removed. It was purchased in 1874 by Mr. George H. Corliss, the renowned 
engine builder, who occupied it until his death. 

Lowell-Johnson house. No. 203 High Street, built about 1774 by 
John Lowell, son of Rev. John Lowell, who was afterwards judge of the 
United States Circuit Court. He was the father of Francis Cabot Lowell, 
for whom the city of Lowell was named, grandfather of the founder of the 
Lowell Institute of Boston, and also grandfather of James Russell Lowell. 
The house was later occupied by John Tracy, son of Patrick Tracy, and he 
entertained here, in 1782, the Marquis de Castellux, Baron Talleyrand, and 
other officers of the French army. 

H ouse No. 244 High Street, frequently the home of John G. Whittier 
during the last years of his life. 

The Toppan house, No. 10 Toppan Street, built by Jacob Toppan in 
1670, and still in possession of his lineal descendants. 

Pillsbury Place, No. 265 High Street. This was first the farm of 
Edward Rawson, Clerk of the town and member of the House of Deputies. 
Later, he was for thirty-five years secretary of the Colony of Massachusetts 
Bay. In 1651 it was by him sold to Job C. Pillsbury, who in 1700 erected a 
dwelling house, which was destroyed by fire in 1889, and of which the present 
structure, owned and occupied by his descendants, is a copy. 

Atkinson Park, with monument to the soldiers and sailors of the Civil 
War—the Volunteer,—by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson, and observatory. 

Essex, Merrimac, or “ Chain ” Bridge. Here in 1792 was erected the first 
bridge across the Merrimac river. It was, in 1810, superseded by the present 
suspension bridge, which was the second of its kind in the country. 

Deer Island, home of Harriet Prescott Spofford. The house here was, 
in the early part of the century, a noted tavern and toll-house for the bridges 
on either side. 





















®i)c Colonial ISoolt of 


Georgian 


Made only in 
Sterling Silver 

tVA fi ne 


Newbury 



Paul Revere 


Teaspoons 

Reduced 

one-Jifth 


T HE five patterns shown on this page represent the continuance of the Colonial idea, 
which has become a distinctive feature of the product of the Towle Manufacturing 
Company, both in Table Flat Ware and Hollow Ware. The Colonial pattern embodies 
the purity and dignity of the style of architecture and furniture whose name it bears. The 
popularity of this style is deep-rooted and growing, and it is now accepted as the most 
characteristic and appropriate realization of American taste. A unique feature of this 
design is the faceted effect of the spoon bowls, which thus harmonize with the angular 
shapes of the Colonial style, but yet are so slightly indented that this form is no detriment 
to use, being, in fact, hardly perceptible when so tested. This style of bowl has been fully 
protected by letters patent, and can be had only in the Colonial pattern which is made 
in sterling silver fi ne )> it tnay be purchased of first-class Jewelers throughout the 

United States and Canada. Buyers of silverware should carefully examine the trade¬ 
mark, which is a guarantee of quality. 







































































X£toimrj>port & Ftrintti> 39 



COLONIAL KNIFE, FORK, AND SPOON CASES 

Height , 26 inches 

Of inlaid mahogany, accurate reproductions (by permission) of rare 
examples in Pendleton House, the Colonial museum of the Rhode Island 
School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island. 

The unmistakable Colonial character of these makes them extremely 
effective in dining-room decoration and particularly appropriate for containing 
the Colonial Pattern. 


TOWLE MFG. COMPANY 

Silversmiths 


NEWBURYPORT 



SriRUNQ 


MASSACHUSETTS 


Chicago, Illinois, 42 Madison Street ; Heyvvorth Building 
New York City, 17 Maiden Lane; Silversmiths Building 


The TOWLE MFG. COMPANY does no retail business anywhere 






40 Colonial Uoolt of 


Coffee Spoon 




Dessert Spoon 
Nos. 26, 30 and 34 


ACTUAL SIZE. 


TAADC 


STERLING SILVER 
t^ttFINE 










































Ttfttofmvgpoxt & Ftctuttp 41 


Pap Spoon 


Table Fork 
Nos. 35, 39 and 43 



Table Spoon 
Nos. 36, 41 and 45 


Dessert Fork 
Nos. 26, 30 and 34 


Dessert Fork 
reverse 

























































42 d )t Colonial l^ooit of 


Chocolate Spoon 


Jelly Spoon 


Preserve Spoon 



ACTUAL SIZE 


MARK 


TftADC 


STERLING SILVER 
FINE 


1000 


Soup Spoon 


Bouillon Spoon 




































Pudding Spoon 


Orange Spoon 


Sugar Spoon 


Berry Spoon 





■mm aTvx 


V'_ : ^ 








' 

I m 

SJ C; vl • 

J 


‘NrtoftttriHMrt & 43 























44 


'Eitt Colonial 3 $ooft of 











'Netoimrgport & Ficinitg 45 



ACTUAL SIZE 


T * AD l 


STERLING SILVER 
^ttFINE 


















46 Wf)t Colonial Uooft of 

Olive Fork, small Butter Pick Oyster Fork 



















































$c Wicinitg 47 


Ice Cream Fork 


Egg Spoon 


Cold Meat Fork, large 


Cold Meat Fork 


Individual Fish Fork 


STERLING SILVER 
FINE 

















































48 Colonial Uooft of 

Chow Chow Spoon Horse Radish Spoon 


Ideal Olive Spoon 


























































Olive Spoon 


Piccalilli Spoon 


Olive Fork 



Chocolate Muddler 
























































50 Wi)t Colonial Uooft of 

Salad Fork Sardine Fork Salad Spoon 




























i rout krure 



Trout Fork 


Telly Knife 


ACTUAL SIZE 


TAADC 


STERLING SILVER 


V& fr ff / 


Rfr E 

YW ItS / 

U f 

■iTC? f MS 

TO 1 f4g 

11 


ZX’iVJJjHSi v UM/y ijjujV»)iTn.T';f “J 11 





























52 Cf )t Colonial 9 $ooit of 


Child’s Fork 


Child’s Knife 


Child’s Spoon 
























































& Firintt^ 53 


Sugar Tongs 


Sardine Tongs 


Tete-a-Tete Tongs 




Asparagus Tongs 


Ice Tongs 


. ■ 
























54 


We Colonial 3 $ooft of 



























& Wmnit$ 55 

















































Zht Colonial ISooft 


Vegetable Spoon 


Asparagus Fork 


Bonbon Scoop 

































Ice Spoon 


Confection Spoon 


STERLING SILVER 

-iiL FINE 
«ooo r 


























Nut Spoon 


58 Wbe (Colonial ISooft of 


Sugar Sifter 


Lemon Server 


Olive Spoon, small 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STERLING SILVER 


FINE 




































59 



TStetoimrgport & Ftrinitj) 


Marrow Scoop 


Cheese Server 


Serving Spoon 




















60 'Eitt Colonial of 

Grape Shears 



Macaroni Server 


Oyster Server 


ACTUAL SIZE 


MARK 


STERLING SILVER 
-1L 5 - r|N£ 

lArtn * 
































'NeMmr!>port & Witinitg 6 i 


Cracker Scoop 


Almond Scoop 


Waffle Server 





















62 &i)e Colonial 3 $ooli of 


























tftfuturgport & Ftctnitj) 63 






Pie Server, H. H. Plated Steel Blade 


Ice Cream Server, H. H. Plated Steel Blade 































64 


Cf )t Colonial 3 $ooft of 




Lettuce Spoon 


Cheese Scoop, small 


Pea Server 

















































66 We Colonial ISooft of 


Individual Fish Knife 





Tea Knife, flat 


Butter Knife, flat 



Fruit Knife, H 


Cake Knife 


Duck Knife H. H 



































& Ftttnttj) 67 

Cheese Knife Butter Knife Butter Knife Pick 
























































Butter Spreader, H. H. 




Dessert Knife 


Medium Knife 


V 


V- 




Tea Knif 



Table Knife 



































1 V i«'/V VVV/W UVwU UV/W^. vv 


^bjibur^pott $c ¥mnitt> 69 


Orange Knife, H. H 


Steak Knife 


Steak Steel 


Steak Fork 


Cheese Scoop, H. H. 















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70 



Colonial 1$ooit of 




- ... 


Carving Steel 







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Game Carver 






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72 


W )t Colonial l&ook of 



Tea Set 7650 Waiter 6236 

COLONIAL HOLLOW WARE 

The articles shown on this and the following page exhibit the characteristic 
Colonial elements embodied in the preceding flat ware, and make possible 
complete and harmonious table furnishing in this style. 


Fish Dish 4005 Water Pitcher 6755 Covered Butter Dish 4129 Bread and Butter Plate 5412 



Soup Tureen 7380 


Tureen Tray 7380 Dinner Plate 3920 Covered Vegetable Dish 4646 


Sterling Silver 



STEALING 


92 %ooo F ine 













73 


Xetoimrpport & Firinttg 



Coffee Pot 5531 Urn 7795 Coffee Pot 5530 

Cream Pitcher 5530 Waste 5530 Sugar Bowl 5530 



After-Dinner Coffee Set and Waiter 5515 


Sterling Silver 


STERLING 


925 /l000 Fine 






74 


Cf )t Colonial ISooft 



COLONIAL CHEST, No. 356, WITH TABLE 

Made in Oak or Mahogany 








































































































































































































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SALESROOMS OF THE 


TOWLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 


SILVERSMITHS BUILDINC 


MAIDEN LANE, NEW YORK CITY 






























NEW BURY 

A Pattern of Flatware 
made in Sterling Silver by the 
Towle Mfg. Company 

WITH SOME HISTORY OF 

NEWBURY : MASSACHUSETTS 

AND ITS PROGENITOR 

NEWBURY : ENGLAND 

























THE OUD ELM OF LHEWBURY. 




HANNAH F. GOULD. 


Did ever it come in your way to pass, 

The silvery pond, with its fringe of grass, 

And threading the lane hard by, to see 
The veteran elm of Newbury? 

You saw how its roots had grasped the ground, 

As if it had felt that the earth went round, 

And fastened them down with determined will 
To keep it steady and hold it still. 

Its aged trunk, so stately and strong, 

Has braved the blasts as they’ve rushed along. 

Its head has towered and its arms have spread, 
While more than a hundred years have fled! 

Well, that old elm, that is now so grand, 

Was once a twig in the rustic hand 

Of a youthful peasant, who went one night 

To visit his love, by the tender light 

Of the modest moon and her twinkling host; 

While the stars that lighted his bosom most, 

And gave to his lonely feet their speed, 

Abode in a cottage beyond the mead. 

’Twas the peaceful close of a summer’s day ; 

Its glorious orb had passed away ; 

The toil of the field till morn had ceased, 

For a season of rest to man and beast. 

The mother had silenced her humming wheel. 

The father returned for the evening meal 
The thanks of one who had chosen the part 
Of the poor in spirit, the rich in heart. 

Who, having the soul’s grand panacea, 

Feel all is added that’s needful here, 

And know this truth of the human breast, 

That wanting little is being blest. 

The good old man in his chair reclined, 

At a humble door, with a peaceful mind; 

While the drops from his sun-burnt, brow were 

[dried] 

By the cool, sweet air of the eventide. 

The son from the yoke had unlocked the bow, 
Dismissing the faithful ox to go 
And graze in the close. He had called the kine 
For their oblation at day’s decline. 

He’d gathered and numbered the lambs and 

[sheep,] 

And fastened them up in their nightly keep. 

He’d stood by the coop till the hen could bring 
Her huddling brood safe xuider her wing, 

And made them secure from the hooting owl, 
Whose midnight prey was the shrieking fowl, 
When all was finished, he sped to the well, 

Where the old gray bucket hastily fell; 

And the clear cold water came up to chase 
The dust of the field from his neck and face, 

And hands and feet, till the youth began 
To look renewed in the outer man. 

And soon arrayed in his Sunday’s "best, 

The stiff new suit had done the rest. 

And the hale young lover was on his way, 

Where through the fen and the field, it lay; 

And over the bramble, the brake, and the grass 
As the shortest cut to the house of his lass. 


It is not recorded how long he stayed 
In the cheerful home of the smiling maid; 

But, when he came out, it was late and dark 
A nd silent-,—not even a dog would bark 
To take from his feeling of loneliness, 

And make the length of his way seem less. 

He thought it was strange that the treacherous 

[moon] 

Should have given the world the slip so soon ; 

And, whether the eyes of the girl had made 
The stars of the sky in his own to fade 
Or not, it certainly seemed to him 
That each grew distant and small and dim. 

And he shuddered to think he was now about 
To take a long and lonely route ; 

For he did not know what fearful sight 
Might come on him through the shadows of 

[night!] 

An elm grew close by the cottage’s eaves. 

So he plucked him a twig well clothed with 

[leaves;] 

And sallying forth with the supple arm, 

To serve as a talisman parrying harm, 

He felt that, though his heart was so big, 

’Twas even the stouter for having the twig. 

For this, he thought, would answer to switch 
The horrors away, as he crossed the ditch, 

The meadow and copse, wherin, perchance, 
Will-o'-the-wisp might wickedly dance, 

And, wielding it, keep him from having a chill 
At the menacing sound of the “Whip-poor-will!” 
And his flesh from creeping, beside the bog, 

At the harsh, bass voice of the viewless frog. 

In short, he felt that the switch would be 
Guard, plaything, business, and company. 

When he got safe home, and joyfully found 
He still was himself! and living ! and sound! 

He planted the twig by his family cot, 

To stand as a monument, marking the spot 
It helped him to reach, and what was still more 
Because it had grown by his fair one’s door. 

The twig took root, and, as time flew by, 

Its boughs spread wide and its head grew high ; 
While the priest’s good service had long been 

[done,] 

Wliich made the youth and the maiden one, 

And their young scions arose and played 
Around the tree, in its leafy shade. 

But many and many a year has fled 
Since they were gathered among the dead; 

And now their names, with the moss o’ergrown 
Are veiled from sight on the churchyard stone 
That leans away, in a lingering fall, 

And owns the power that shall level all 
The works that the hand of man hath wrought, 
Bring him to dust, and his name to nought; 

While, near in view, and just beyond 
The grassy skirts of the silver pond, 

In its “green old age,” stands the noble tree 
The veteran elm of Newbury. 























JVcidburu 

Elm 


HE ship “Mary and John,” sailing from the Thames nearly three 
centuries ago, severed the natal ties of an adventurous company of 
pioneers, who looked hopefully to the new world for the eulargment 
of their liberties aud their fortunes. The sadness of parting, the 
perils and discomforts of the long vogage, in time passed, and early 
in the winter of sixteen hundred thirty-four the ship came to anchor in the harbor 
of Boston, from whence, with the advent of a favorable season, many w r ere to 
make their way into the surrounding country. Of this number w’ere the first 
settlers of Newbury, Massachusetts, and to their grants on the banks of the Quas- 
cacunqueu (now Parker) river they made their w r ay the following spring. The 
Reverend Thomas Parker, the spiritual leader of the party, had come from New¬ 
bury, England, and in his honor the new settlement w r as given the name of this 
medieval town of the mother country. The plantation, as it was then termed, 
contained men of learning, of ability, and of means, and important enterprises 
were at once begun w’hich laid the foundation for the town, and its offspring the 
city of Newburyport, both of which have borne an important part in the history 
of our country. 

Our imagination hardly serves to realize the remoteness of this period, but if, 
through our interest in the parent town, we follow the years backward to the 
eleventh century, when it first appeared in history under this name, we must 
utterly fail to comprehend the real significance of the interval. 

The beginnings of this old world town are lost in a vague antiquity that hints 
of the early Celts, who occupied the country before the coming of the Romans in 
the second century. Relics of the latte* are numerous; their roads may yet be 
seen ; and they left the name “ Spinae,” variously rendered “ Spinus,” “ Spone,” 
and “ Speen,” to designate their station on the route traveled by Antoninus Pius. 
This, later called Speenhamlaud, was the nucleus from w T hich may be said to have 
grown, by the coming of the Saxon, the settlement, precarious and nameless for 
centuries, finally to be known as “ New Bourg ” and Newbury. 

The south bank of the river Kennet, soon to merge its waters with the Thames, 
favored the peaceful life of the new invaders more than did the former Roman 
military camp a mile to the northward; and the fruitful valley sustained them 
after the manner of those dark ages,— recordless but for relics turned up by the 
plow,— until the dawning light of the eleventh century reveals an ecclesiastical 
settlement firmly established under the Norman succession, from which all real 
history dates. 

!«xx»QQflnnQryinfyxyxyy)QQQ(^^ 






























For the following 
century this is chiefly 
concerned with the af¬ 
fairs of Ernulf de Hesd- 
ing and other possessors 
of the manor, their pat¬ 
ronage of the church 
and monastery, and the 
neighboring priory of 
Saudelford. The natural 
activities of a flourishing 
community are evident, 
however, and we find 
mention in the record of 
the court of chancery, 
in the year 1205, of a Ful¬ 
ling Mill, and “another 
Mill,” as well as a Town 
Market. One of the most 
stirring events of this 
period of the town’s his¬ 
tory is the siege of the 
castle of Newbury by 
King Stephen, in 1152. 

The account of this 
struggle is contained in 
a French poem of nearly 
twenty thousand lines, 
comprising the history of 
William Marshall, Earl 
of Pembroke, son of John 
Marshall, one of the most 
valiant supporters of 
the Empress Matilda 
against Stephen. It 

relates with much detail the king’s demand for the surrender of the castle, the 
truce to enable the defenders to secure the aid of John Marshall, and the rendering 
of his son William, the hero, as a hostage ; how John Marshall strengthened the 
garrison in the interval, and continued to hold it in spite of the risk to his son’s 
life, which is menaced several times by decision of King Stephen as a penalty for 
the father’s breach of the practices of truce, but each time is saved by his innocent 
fearlessness, which wins the affection of the king. With Stephen’s reverses else¬ 
where the siege was raised, and the prisoners, including both Stephen and 
Matilda as well as William Marshall were exchanged, with the empress, for 
whom Newbury had held out, in power. No vestige nor adequate description of 
this castle now remains, but its place in the town’s achievements is commemorated 
by its adoption as the municipal arms. 

The gradual evolution of Newbury from a feudal village to the peaceful town 
of later days was marked by many interesting episodes, in which, from its proxim¬ 
ity to London and Windsor and its situation on an important road, royalty was 
frequently an actor. One of these is chronicled as follows: 

“ On Ash Wednesday (4 March, 1248), a great tournament was begun at New¬ 
bury amongst the knights of England, that they might prove their knightly 
prowess and strength ; As the King was favorable to it, it begun and ended well. 
At this tournament William, the King’s half-brother, surnamed de Valentia, a 
young tiro, entered with courageous presumption, to acquire a distinguished title 
for knighthood ; but, being tender in age and not of his full strength, he could 
not sustain the attack of hardy and martial knights, and falling, lost many 
(courses), being soundly beaten that he might learn the first steps of knight¬ 
hood.” 6 

































During the 
Wars of the Roses, 
when the Duke of 
York was gather¬ 
ing his supporters 
at Calais for an in¬ 
vasion of England, 
King Henry be¬ 
came alarmed at 
the Pretender’s 
strength, and un¬ 
dertook to thwart 
him by searching 
out and arresting 
his chief adher- 
ants. This move¬ 
ment was inaugu¬ 
rated at Newbury, 
and is recorded by 
a contemporary 
writer: 

“ 1460. In the 
mene tyme the 
erlle of Wylshire 
tresuer of Eng¬ 
land, the lorde 
Scale s , and the 
lorde Hungreford, 
having the Kynges 
commyssyone, 
went to the toune 
of Newbury, the 
whyche longed to 
the duk of York, 
and there made 
inquysycione of 
alle thayme that 
in any wyse had 
shewed any fa- 
uoure or benyuol- 

ence or frendshyppe to the sayde duk, or to any of hys: whereof some were found 
gylty, and were drawe, hanged, and quartered, and alle other inhabitantes of the 
forseyde toune were spoyled of alle theyre goodes.” 

Many’ prominent gentlemen of Newbury paid the penalty’ of the failure of the 
Duke of Buckingham’s revolt against King Richard III in 1483. They’ took up 
arms with the former, and with others of Berkshire assembled at Newbury, 
October 18, 1483, proclaimed Richmond King of England. Their cause was 
worthy, but fate had marked other lines for history, and defeat and spoliation 
were their portion. 

Another uprising to the credit of the town of Newbury is chronicled in con¬ 
nection with the history of “Jack of Newbury’,” a representative of the important 
industry of cloth making, in which Newbury had long been prominent. This 
Jack of Newbury, originally John Smallw’ood, and later John Wynchcombe, lived 
a useful, free, and generous life, which brought him great popularity and influ¬ 
ence, and has preserved his memory as a local hero for more than three centuries. 
Toward the end of “ The most Pleasant and delectable Hisiorie of John Winchcombe , 
otherwise called Jacke of Newberie," a pamphlet detailing with much interesting 
incident the rise and character of this worthy, the author, Deloney, says: 
“ Whereupon on the sodaine every man was appointed according to his abilitie to 
be readie with his men and furniture at an houres warning, on paine of death. 
Jack of Newberie was commanded by’ the Justice to set out sixe men, four armed 
with Pikes, and two Calivers, and to meet the Queene in Buckinghamshire, who 
was there raising a great power to goe against the faithlesse King of Scots. When 

5 


SAINT NICHOLAS’ CHURCH BUILT BETWEEN 
1509-1533 LARGELY AT THE CHARGE OF 
JOHN WINCHCOMBE “JACK OF NEWBURY” 


















NEWTOWN WATERS, NEWBURY, ENGLAND 

Jack had received this charge, he came home in all haste, and cut out a whole 
broadcloth for horsemen’s coates, and so much more as would make up coates for 
the number of a hundred men. In a short time he had made readie fiftie tall men, 
well mounted in white coates, and red caps with yellow feathers, Demilances in 
their hands; and fiftie armed men on foot with Pikes, also in white coates; every 
man so expert in the handling of his weapon as few better were found in the field. 
Himself likewise in compleat armour on a goodly Barbed horse, and foremost in 
the company with a lance in his hand, and a faire plume of yellow feathers in his 
creste, and in this sort he came before the Justices: who at the first approach did 
not a little what he should be. At length when they had discovered who he was, 
the Justices and most of the Gentlemen gave him great commendations for this 
his good and forward minde shewed in this action.” 

His gallant and brilliant band of one hundred, where six were commanded, 
attracted the attention of Queen Catherine at the rendezvous at Stoney Strafford 
and she conferred the title of Gentleman upon Jack and the members of his com¬ 
pany ; and afterward at the dispersal of his troops, when they had received the 
news of the success of their cause at the battle of Flodden Field, she placed about 
his neck “ a riche chaine of gold ” as a token of her gratitude. That other sons of 
Newbury were in the field and fighting in this cause is shown by this historical 
rhyme, a type which, like the rune and the saga of more primitive times, pre¬ 
serves in a form suited for vocal transmission the story of — 

“ FLODDEN FIELD. 

The Newberrie Archers. An Old Historical Song. 

“ Come Archers learne the News I telle 
To Honoure of your Arte, 

The Scottyshe Kinge at Flodden felle 

Bye the poynte of an Englyshe Darte. 

Thoughe Fyre and Pyke dyd Wond’rous thynges 
More wonders stylle dyd wee, 

And every Tongue with rapture syngs 
Of the Laddes of Newberrie. 





























INTERIOR OF SAINT NICHOLAS’ CHURCH RESTORED 1866-67 
LENGTH 140 FEET, MEAN BREADTH 74 FEET. 


“ The Bonnie Laddes of Westmorelande 

And the Chesshyre Laddes were there, 
With Glee theye took theyre Bows in Hande 
And wythe shoutes disturb’d the Ayre. 
Awaye they sent the Grey Goose Wynge, 
Eche kyll’d his two or three, 

Yet none soe loude wythe fame dyd rynge 
As the Laddes of Newberrie. 


They swore to scayle the Mountayne bolde, 
Where some in vayne had try’de; 

That theyre Toes mighte take the better holde 
Theyre Bootes theye caste asyde. 
Barefooted soone theye reach’d the Hyghte, 
Twas a gudelie syghte to see 
Howe faste the Scottes were putte to flyghte 
By the Laddes of Newberrie. 

Lord Stanlie sawe wythe muche delyghte, 

And loude was heard to saye, 

Eche oughte by Jove to be a Knighte, 

For to theme w r ee owe the Daye. 

The Chesshyre Laddes began the route, 

And the Kendall Boys soe free, 

But none of theme all have foughte more stoute 
Than the Laddes of Newberrie. 

Now God preserve our Lord the Kynge, 

Who travaill’s farre in France, 

And let us all of Bowmen singe 

While rounde our Cuppes wee Daunce. 

The Chesshyre Laddes were bryske and brave, 
And the Kendall Laddes as free, 

But none surpass’d, or I’m a Knave, 

The Laddes of Newberrie.” 


The religious oppressions which later forced the Puritans to emigrate were 
manifested in Newbury by various persecutions, including the burning at the 
stake of Josceline Palmer and two companions, Gwyn and Askew, on July 16, 


gpi j i 




















































SHAW HOUSE OF THE MANOR OF SHAW, BUILT 1753-1756 


1556, immediately after trial for heresy held in the Parish Church. The Grammar 
School, of which at the neighboring town of Reading, Palmer was master, was an 
institution in Newbury, and in the History of Newbury by Walter Money, F. S. A., 
■we find the following reference to the services of two of the early settlers of 
Newbury, Massachusetts: — 

“The famous Puritan divine, the Rev. Thomas Parker, in whose honor the 
town of Newbury, in New England, was so called, taught for some time previous 
to the 1634 “the free school in Newbury”; and John Woodbridge, brother of 
Benjamin, appointed Rector of Newbury by the Parliament during the Great 
Rebellion, is mentioned by Dr. Calamy as being “cast out of the school at New¬ 
bury by the Bartholemew-Act of 1662.” 

From this time the thread of history from which has been woven our New 
England character takes its way across the Atlantic ; but our fraternal interest in 
the older town should warrant the review of a few notable incidents in its history 
subsequent to the rising of the new world settlement. 

Cloth making, before referred to in connection with Jack of Newbury, contin¬ 
ues to be the chief industry of the town and of national importance. A strong 
Weavers’ Company was founded in the reign of Henry VIII and incorporated by 
Royal Charter in 1601, the forty-fourth year of Queen Elizabeth. This institution 
is still in existence, although it has lost its character of a power in the community. 
It is pertinent to note that a few items of Corporate insignia are still possessed by 
the Company, namely, the beadle’s silver mounted staff of office, wfith the inscrip¬ 
tion, “Robert Layle, Richard Canins, Wardens, 1706 a belt with the Company’s 
arms well executed on a silver shield, worn by the beadle on state occasions. It 
appears to have been customary for every new member to provide a silver spoon 
on his admittance ; but the plate thus acquired by this ancient body has disap¬ 
peared. 

The strong and beautiful arch that now spans the Kennet was built in 1769, 
and promises to remain a safe viaduct for many centuries. The place it occupies 
was the scene of a notable calamity in 1623, when, without warning and to the 
consternation and distress of the inhabitants of the town, the ancient wooden 
bridge fell into the river. The following annunciatory letter, quaint as to its 
spelling, but perennially modern in its earnest plea for assistance, is preserved in 
the Bodleian Library : — 

























STREET IN NEWBURY, ENGLAND 


“To Thos. Bond, Esq., at his lodging in Durham house, in the Strand, neare 
London. (Of Ogbourne in Wilts.) 

Sir, — Wee have thought good to lett you vnderstand, how that vpon Sundaye, 
beinge the V th day of ffebruarie last, a greate parte of our Towne bridge beinge 
about 30 foote in length & 20 foote in bredth fell downe into the river so that no 
carts can passe over yt, to the greate hinderau’ce of our Towne, specially vpon ye 
market dayes, it beinge a bridge in ye middle of the Towne, as you knowe, 
whereby only, and by no other wave, one parte of the Towne can come to thother, 
& the country cominge in at the West and North endes of the Towne with carts 
can come no other waye to the markett vnlesse they goe a myle about; Audit 
was the greate blessinge of God that it fell not either as people 'were goinge to or 
cominge from churche, which yf it had, it had cost many a man’s life, and yet fell 
shortly after dinner, ffor the repayringe of this bridge wee haue vsed tvme out 
of minde of man to take trees as occasion hath bin out of the Wash now his high- 
nes wast parcell of the manor of Newbery, which was heretofore well stored, but 
now there is not, neither hath bin of late, scarce one Tree seruiceable for that vse, 
so that wee shalbe putt to 40 or 50^ chardge in repayringe of yt, to our great hin¬ 
derau’ce, wee havinge many poore people amongst vs to relieve, in these harde 
tymes, when as clothinge, the chiefe keye of tradinge in our towne for reliefe of 
the poore, is so much decayed. Whereof wee heartely intreate your considerac’on, 
& yf you shall thiuke it fitt to acquaynt some of his highnes Counsell with this 
accident that is befallen vs, humqly intreatinge theyr honors to take Considerac’on 
of it, as they in theyr wisedomes shall thinke fitt. And so wee take our leaves, 
cravinge pardon for beinge so troublesome to you & rest 

Your very lovinge freinds, 


John Barksdale, ivnior, 
John Hunte, 

John Hooghton, 
Edward Longman, 
Richard Avery, 
Wylliam Hunte, 
William Wilson. 


Richard Waller, Mayor, 
Jo. Barksdale, 

William Howes, 

Gabrieli Cox, the younger, 
Roger Lynche, 

Thomas Gyles, 


Newbery, 
March 1, 1623. 


In 1643 Newbury was the scene of a hard fought battle between the armies of 
King Charles I and of Parliament, the former having 10,000 infantry and cavalry, 
and the latter 8,000, under the Earl of Essex. The advantage of position was 
greatly with the Royalists, while the Puritans were exposed and weakened by the 























utter lack of provis¬ 
ions, yet by the skill 
of their commander, 
their gallantry, and 
a fortunate miscarri¬ 
age of the King’s 
plans,they triumphed 
after a battle lasting 
from dawn to mid¬ 
night, — although 
their victory was not 
apparent until the fol¬ 
lowing day,— and re¬ 
turned gloriously to 
London, the achieve¬ 
ment which it was 
King Charles’ pur¬ 
pose to prevent. 

Again, in October 
of the next year, large 
forces under King 
Charles occupied 
Newbury and gave 
battle to the troops of 
Essex, Waller, and 
Cromwell, under the 
Earl of Manchester, 
and again the Parlia¬ 
mentary troops were 
victorious after a hard 
fight. 

After being fined 
2s. 6d. for its con¬ 
tempt of the Court’s 
order of the previous 

year to set up a ducking stool, the town of Newbury established this remedy for 
scolds, and apparently found frequent use for it, as there are many entries of 
charges for its repair. The method is described by M. Misson, who traveled in 
England about the year 1700 : 

“ This method of punishing scolding women is funny enough. They fasten an 
armchair to the end of two strong beams, twelve or fifteen feet long and parallel 
to each other. The chair hangs upon a sort of axle, on which it plays freely so as 
always to remain in the horizontal position. The scold being well fastened in her 
chair, the two beams are then placed, as near the center as possible, across a post 
on the water-side, and being lifted up behind, the chair of course drops into the 
cold element. The ducking is repeated according to the degree of shrewishness 
possessed by the patient, and generally has the effect of cooling her immoderate 
heat, at least for a time.” 

Regular communication with other parts, which culminated in the completion 
of the Newbury and Didcot railway in 1879, was begun in 1752 with the establish¬ 
ment of the “ Flying Coach,” announced as follows : 

“ Newbury Four wTieel’d Stage Chaise, 

Made with Steel Springs, to carry P'our Passengers at 
Ten Shillings each to or from London. 

Sets out from the White Hart Inn, in Newbury, on Mondays, Wednesdays, 
and Fridays, at Six o’clock in the morning, to the Saracen’s Head, 

Snow Hill; and returns from thence on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays ; 
and will be at their Quarters each Evening by Six: 

Changes horses at Thomas Talmadge’s, at the Pelican at Twyford, and 

at Colnbrook. 

10 














































aces taken at the \\ hite Hart and Saracen’s Head, at Five Shillings entrance: 
each passenger to be allowed Eight Pounds Weight. Small parcels taken in at 
t above Houses, and carefully deliver’d. 

N. B. No Money, Plate, Jewels, or Writings lost to be made good, unless enter’d 
. _ and paid for as such. 

The said Chaise will set out from Newbury on Monday, the second of October. 

perform’d by 

John Clark & Co. 

Mote also. There are Road Waggons set out from Newbury to the Saracen’s Head, 
Snow Hill, on Mondays and Wednesdays, and returns Thursdays and Saturdays; 
where Gentlemen may depend on having their baggage taken great care of. If 
any Incivilities are offered by the Drivers, the Proprietors would take it kind to 
be acquainted therewith at Newbury.” 

As a result of trade depression during the wars of the last half of the 
eighteenth century, there was much deprivation among the poor, which in New- 
bury resulted in rioting and pillage of bread and provision stalls, in August, 1766. 
The millers and bakers, in spite of the prevalent distress, maintained unwarrant¬ 
ably high prices for bread, and for this they suffered by the destruction of their 
wares, with those of other purveyors, by the incensed mob. Realizing the serious¬ 
ness of the situation, they quickly changed their policy, and the price was imme¬ 
diately reduced ; while further ‘‘A public subscription was raised in Newbury to 
supply the poor with bread at 9d. the gallon, and the millers agreed to grind their 
wheat free of cost. Many of the officials and farmers in country parishes, and 
private persons, also undertook to supply the poor with wheat at a lower price 
than that charged to the general public, and much practical commiseration 
appears to have been shown for their unfortunate position. The Corporation of 
Newbury, in order that farmers and dealers might not be intimidated from coming 
to the markets, made good the damage they had sustained ; and the military 
being withdrawn the town soon resumed its normal quietude. Some of the rioters 
were tried at the following Assizes, and two of them received sentences of trans¬ 
portation.” 

The numerous and worthy public institutions established at Newbury during 
the latter part of the nineteenth century show it to be unencumbered by the con¬ 
servatism which might be expected in a town of such ancient establishment, and 
quite the contrary in its enterprising philanthropy. These works of peace sup¬ 
plant the deeds of valor recorded of earlier times, and more beneficently disburse 
the funds which formerly sustained strife. 


1 










? * 

• 

‘ i : 

. 

* 

i • . ♦ 






MARKET PLACE, NEWBURY, ENGLAND 


11 



























I 


























RESIDENCE OF JACK OF NEWBERRIE 


ham. His business relations brought 
him into contact with many gentl¬ 
emen of position, at the various mar¬ 
kets and agricultural gatherings 
which he attended. Amongst these 
was Sir John Throckmorton, of Buck- 
land House. In the course of con¬ 
versation, Mr. Coxeter • one day 
remarked to the worthy baronet that 
so great were the improvements in¬ 
troduced into the cloth-making ma¬ 
chinery in his mill that, quoth he, 
“ I believe that in twenty-four hours 
I could take the coat off your back ; 
reduce it to wool, and turn it back 
into a coat again.” The vaunt thus 
spoken in jest appears to have made 
such an impression on Sir John 
Throckmorton that shortly after¬ 
wards, at a dinner party, he offered 
to lay a wager of a thousand guineas 
that between sunrise and sunset a coat 
could be made, the wool for which 
should have been that morning grow¬ 
ing upon the sheep’s back. He 
thereupon sent for Mr. Coxeter, to 
ascertain if the feat were really pos¬ 
sible. After a careful noting of the 
time occupied in the various proces¬ 
ses, Mr. Coxeter replied in the affirmative, and the bet was accordingly concluded. 

At five o’clock in the morning of June 25,1811, Sir John Throckmorton came to 
Greenham with his shepherd, bringing with him two fat Southdown sheep. The 
sheep were promptly shorn; the wool was washed, stubbed, roved, spun, and 
woven; the cloth was scoured, fulled, tented, raised, sheared, dyed, and dressed. 
The weaving was performed by Mr. John Coxeter, jun., who had been found by 
previous competition to be the most expert workman. The cloth was finished, as 
thus described, by four o’clock in the afternoon, eleven hours after the commence¬ 
ment of the sheep-shearing. The coat had now to be made. Mr. James White, 
tailor, of Newbury, superintended the tailoring and cut out the coat. Nine of his 
men, with needles ready threaded, took the garment in hand at four o’clock, and 
completed the coat at twenty minutes past six. In the meantime the news of this 
extraordinary match against time had spread abroad, and an immense concourse of 
people was assembled, awaiting with intense excitement the achievement of the 
task. Taking his stand upon a platform erected on the lawn in front of Mr. 
Coxeter’s drawing-room window, Sir John Throckmorton appeared, wearing the 
coat, in the presence of an assemblage numbering, as was estimated, about fi\ e 
thousand people. The two sheep which had been despoiled of the wool were 
roasted whole, and cut up and distributed among the people, together with one 
hundred twenty gallons of strong beer, dispensed through Mr. Coxeter s liberality , 
amidst much festive rejoicing. Sir John Throckmorton dined at Mr. Coxeter s, 
with forty other gentlemen, and slept that night at the “ Pelican ” hotel, Speen- 
hamland. The coat was a hunting kersey “ of a dark W ellington colour. The 
wager was thus won with nearly an hour and three-quarters to spare. 

To commemorate the event a large historical oil painting was executed by Mr. 
Luke Clint, of Newbury, and engraved by Mr. George Clint, an engraver in 
London, containing portraits of the various gentlemen and others engaged in the 
transaction. This painting remained in the possession of Mrs. Coxeter until her 
death in 1876, at the remarkable age of over 101 years, after which it passed into 
























































LANDING PLACE OF FIRST SETTLERS OF NEWBURY 


HE venturesome company that embarked in the “ Mary and John ” 
and planted the colony on the bank of the Quascacunquen entered 
upon a domain which, however virgin and primeval in its physical 
character, was already chartered in most comprehensive form, being 
contained within a tract granted in 1627 to Sir Henry Rowell, John 
Endicott, and others, extending “ from a line three miles north of the Merrimack 
river to one three miles south of the Charles river, and from the Atlantic ocean to 
the Pacific ocean,” which they held as the “ Governor and Company of the Massa¬ 
chusetts Bay in New England.” The lateral range of this territory does not appear 
to have been greatly appreciated, as the land actually availed of may almost be 
said to be that in sight of the Atlantic. 

As to the wisdom of the choice made by those whose fortunes we would follow 
we have the testimony of William Wood, author of‘‘New England’s Prospect,” 
published in London in 1634, that: “ Agowamme is nine miles to the North from 
Salem , which is one of the most spatious places for a plantation being neare the 
sea, it aboundeth with fish, and flesh of fowles and beasts, great Meads and 
Marshes and plaine plowing grounds, many good rivers and harbours and no rattle 
snakes. In a word, it is the best place but one, which is Mernmacke , lying 8 miles 
beyond it, where is a river 20 leagues navigable; all along the river side is fresh 
Marshes, in some places 3 miles broad. In this river is Sturgeon, Sammon, and 
Basse, and divers other kinds of fish. To conclude, the Countrie hath not that 
which this place cannot yeeld. So that these two places may containe twice as 
many people as are yet in New England j there being as yet scarce any inhabitants 
in these two spacious places. Three miles beyond the river Merrimacke is the 
outside of our Patent for the Massachusetts Bay. These be all the Townes that 
were begun, when I came for England , which was the 15 of August 16a3. ’ 

While the town may have been considered to be “begun” by the occasional 
fisherman attracted by the bountiful waters of the Merrimack, no real settlement 
existed when the party under the leadership of Rev. Thomas Parker removed from 
its abiding place at Ipswich and ended its momentous journey under the hills of 
the new land. 

Important accessions to the settlement soon arrived, and the town of Newbury 
was incorporated by “the Great and General Court of Massachusetts.” 

15 
































MARSHES OF NEWBURY AND PLUM ISLAND RIVER 

The independence, later wrested from the mother country, was foreshadowed 
even at this time by a manoeuver which surprised and troubled King Charles and 
his councilors. In 1629 the members of the corporation of the Colony of the 
Massachusetts Bay had, after mature deliberation, transferred to New England the 
charter with full and complete control of all its affairs. 

The promise of civil and religious liberty thus held out proved very attractive 
to discontented subjects at home, and the magnitude of the migratory movement 
attracted the attention of the king, who gave immediate orders to detain the ten 
ships about ready to leave the Thames until the oath of allegiance had been admin¬ 
istered to all passengers bound for America. He also ordered Matthew Cradock, 
the first Governor of the Massachusetts Company, to appear before him and the 
Privy Council with the charter. When he learned that this document was across 
the ocean, he at once took steps for reclaiming the dangerous situation, and a few 
months later the “ Council for New England ” decided to relinquish all its rights 
under the “ Great Charter” in consideration of allotments of land in the colony to 
individual members, but the “Great and General Court,” already organized to 
administer the affairs in the original grant, has continued ever since in spite of 
attempted repression. 

While there was undoubted attachment for the sovereign land which would 
rightfully account for a measure of consideration, the colonists were fully alive to 
the danger of open disregard of the king’s emblems, of which the cross was held 
to be an idolatrous and offensive element, and this appears to have been their chief 
motive in bringing to account Thomas Millerd, mate of the ship Hector, lying in 
Boston Harbor in 1636, who had denounced the colonists as rebels and traitors 
because they did not display the king’s colors on the fort at Castle Island. He 
was seized and imprisoned, but on signing the following retraction he was released, 
and subsequently settled in Newbury: 

“ Whereas, I, Thom: Millerd, have given out most false & repclifull speaches 
against his maties loyall & faithfull subjects dwelling in the Massachusetts Bay, in 
America, saying that they were all traytors & Rebells & that I would affirme so 
much before the Governor himselfe, w ch expressions I do confes (& so desire may 
bee conceived) did pceed from the rashnes & distemper of my owne braine, w th out 
any just ground or cause so to thinke or speake, for w ch , my vnworthy & sinfull 
carriage being called in question, I do justly stand committed ; my humble & ( ) 

request y r fore is y l vpon y s my free & ingenious recantation of y s my grosse failing 
it would please y e Governor & y e rest of y e assistants to accept of this mjr humble 
submission, to passe by my fault & to dismiss me fro further trouble; & y s , my 
free & volentary confession I subscribe w th my hand y s 9 th June 1636. Thomas 
Millerd.” 

16 































PARKER RIVER BRIDGE-NEAR LANDING PLACE 

Many other incidents of this nature took place, and the colonists seem to have 
been torn on both horns of the dilemma, which included their aspirations for 
liberty and local self-government, and the necessity for apparent subservience. 
One deference was made at this time, after consultation with the captains of other 
ships in the harbor of Boston. They opined: “ That, in regard that they should 
be examined upon their return, what colors the}' saw here, they did desire that the 
king’s colors be spread at our fort. It was answered that we had not the king’s 
colors. Thereupon two of them did offer them freely to us. We replied that for 
our part we •frere fully persuaded, that the cross in the ensign was idolatrous, and 
therefore might not set in our ensign ; but because the fort was the king’s and 
maintained in his name, we thought that his own colors might be spread there. So 
the Governor accepted the colors of Capt. Palmer, and promised they should be 
set up at Castle Island.” 

In the present days of easy citizenship and the common superiority of self- 
interest to public welfare, it is worth while carefully to recall the many strong 
qualities of those first settlers, to realize that without their permanence would 
have been impossible, and to speculate on the results of a general and equally 
active and intelligent responsibility with our present population. 

They were first of all religious,— some will say bigoted, but in an age when 
bigotry was evident in all sects; strong convictions brought them here, and strong 
constitutions sustained them through hardships and hard labor. They did not 
neglect their personal interests, but they weighed everything as to its bearing on 
the community, and they met once in three months to supplement the work of a 
committee of the whole, to which early, orderly, respectful, and continued attend¬ 
ance was compulsory, to regulate affairs and elect the “ seven men ”—later known 
as “ selectmen ”—who administered them in the interval and rendered a report at 
the end of the term. 

The Town of Newbury Records show that: “ February 24, 1637-8. It was voted 
that Thomas Cromwell, Samuel Scullard, John Pike, Robert Pike, and Nicholas 
Holt, are fined two shillings and sixpence apiece for being absent from towne 
meeting at eight o’clock in the morning, having due and fitt warning.” 

‘‘April 21, 1638. Henry Short, John Cheney, Francis Plumer, Nicholas Noyes 
and Nicholas Holt are fined two shillings and sixpence apiece for being absent 
from the towne meeting, having lawful warning.” 

17 


■ 









































RESIDENCE OF REV. JAMES NOYES, ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS 


“ May 5, 1638. It is ordered that John Pike shall pay two shillings and sixpence 
for departing from the meeting without leave and contemptuously.” While the 
following from Samuel Sewall’s Letter Book Shows the personal effort willingly 
rendered for the cause of government: 

“ In the year 1635, the Election was held at Cambridge : so twas again May 17, 
1637, upon the Plain in the open Aer. Gov r Vane was there, and had the Mortifi¬ 
cation to see the excellent John Winthrop preferd before him, and chosen Govern- 
our (who had been Governour 1630—1 —2—3—.) Indeed Mr. Vane seemed to stand so 
hard for being chosen again, as to endeavor to confound and frustrat the whole 
business of the election, rather than that he himself should fail of being chosen. 
There was a great struggle, he being the principal Magistrate, for managing the 
Election. My father has told me many a time that he and others went on foot 
from Newbury to Cambridge, fourty miles, on purpose to be made free, and help 
to strengthen Gov r Winthrop’s Party. And I find his name in the Record accord¬ 
ingly.” 

The basis of all representation was the “ Freeman,” whose qualification was 
membership in the church. Strangers coming to the town were admitted as inhabi¬ 
tants only by vote of the town, and once admitted permission must also be obtained 
for removal. The General Court also provided, March 3, 1635-6, that any person 
building a house, without permission, in any town in the colony, ‘‘the inhabitants 
of the said towne shall have power to demolishe the said howses & remove the 
p’sons.” 

Fines were the common means of imposing punishment for the infraction of 
the many and explicit rules of conduct, and the sworn officers were alert and im¬ 
partial in ‘‘presenting” offenders at court. 

The acts of governing bodies were by them announced or reported in language 
which reflects the personal interest and human impulses of the members, in quaint 
contrast to the impersonal character of similar documents at the present day, 
while it is not evident that they were therefore less effective. 

The following examples illustrate this while they also instance the strict re¬ 
gard for rank and station which was embodied in the sumptuary laws providing 
that:—“Men of meane condition” should not take upon themselves “the garbe 
of gentlemen by wearing gold or silver lace or buttons”; and women in the same 


18 






































DUMMER MANSION-NOW PART OF DUMMER ACADEMY 

rank were forbidden “to wear silk or tiffany hoodes or scarfes” unless they or 
their husbands possessed an estate of at least two hundred pounds, under a pen¬ 
alty of ten shillings for each offence. 

Decembe r 10, 1646. The towne being informed that M r Thomas Parker was 
unwilling to act any longer in matters concerning the new Towne & M r Cutting 
was going to sea, they were apprehensive of the weighty occasions of the towne 
that are likely to bee retarded, did make choyse of Nicholas Noyes & William 
Titcomb in their roome to be added to the rest of the new towne men for sixe 
weeks that so things may with more speed be dispatched. 

“Ipswich Court March 30, 1647, Aquilla Chase & his wife & David Wheeler 
being presented at the last court for gathering pease on the Lord’s day. Summons 
sent to Hampton. The constables return states they were- not at Hampton but 
were gone to Newberry. September 27, 1653, the wife of Nicholas Noyes being 
presented for wearing a silke coat and scarfe, upon proof that her husband is worth 
above two hundred pounds is cleared of her presentment.’’ 

The wife of Hugh March and the wife of Richard Knight were charged with 
the same offence, but were discharged on proof that their husbands were worth 
two hundred pounds each. 

The wife of John Hutchins was discharged “upon testimony of her having 
been brought up above the ordinary ranked’ 

At the same court the wife of Joseph Sweat and the wife of William Chandler 
were convicted and fined ten shillings “for wearing a silk hoode and scarfed’ 

It is hard to reconcile this fundamental aristocracy with the aggressive de¬ 
mocracy of public affairs, marked at this period and later emphatically expressed 
in the army drawn up at the siege of Boston in 1775, as General Washington re¬ 
gretfully learned when he took command and commenced the work of systema¬ 
tizing and disciplining it. 

However inherent this democracy it by no means signified tolerance and in a 
community where active participation in public affairs was dependent on member¬ 
ship in the accepted church irregular doctrine was met with a war of extermina¬ 
tion. The sect most bitterly and for many years unrelentingly persecuted was 
that of the Quakers, and the records are replete with instances that show the 
vindictive and official animosity of the many, pitted against the kindliness and 
mercy of the few who succored such wandering exemplars of this faith as in their 
travels sought food and shelter. 

19 















































the like, did in the 
year 1642 grant a com¬ 
mission toMr.Thomas 
Parker, Mr. James 
Noyes, Mr. John 
IVoodbridge, Mr. Ed¬ 
ward Raw son, Mr. 
John Cutting, Mr. 
John Lowle, Mr. Ed¬ 
ward Woodman, and 
Mr. John Clark, for 
removing, settleing, 
and disposing of the 
inhabitants to such 
place as m ight in 
their judgments best 
tend to theyr enlarge¬ 
ments, exchanging 
theyr lands, and mak¬ 
ing such orders as 
might bee in theyr 
judgements for the 
well ordering of the 
town’s occasions and, 
as in their commis¬ 
sion more largely ap- 
peareth, the said de¬ 
puted men did order 
in their first meeting 
and appoint John 
Merrill, Richard 
Knight, Anthony 
Short and John Em¬ 
ery to go to all the 
inhabitants of the 
towne, taking a true 
list of all the stock 
of each inhabitant, 
and make a true val¬ 
uation of all their 

houses, improved land, and fences, that thereby a just rule might be made to pro¬ 
portion each inhabitant his portion of land about the new towne, and removing 
of the inhabitants there. 

It was ordered at a meeting of the eight deputed men above mentioned that 
each freeholder should have a house lott of foure akers. It was further ordered, 
in respect of the time for the inhabitants removing from the place they now in¬ 
habit to that which is layd out and appointed for their new habitations, each 
inhabitant shall enjoy their house loots foure years from the day of the date of 
this commission.” 

One of the greatest points of dispute was the new location for the Meeting¬ 
house but this was ultimately settled and it was built where the “Oldtown” burial 
ground now is, opposite the present church on High street. 

From this time the center of affairs was near the mouth of the Merrimac river, 
the territory of the city of Newburyport,—set off as a separate town in 1764,—and 
as their history is outlined in the Colonial Book of this series, this account may 
well terminate with the passing of the settlement which was the connecting 
link with the mother country. 

A sidelight on the condition of the town soon after its expansion is furnished 
by Samuel Maverick one of the first settlers of Boston, who wrote in 1660: 

“At the mouth, on the southside of Meromeck and upwards, is seated the 
Towne of Newbury. The Houses stand at a good distance from each other, a feild 
and Garden between each house, and so on both sides of the street for 4 miles or 
thereabouts; betweene Salisbury and this Towne the river is broader than the 
Thames at Deptford, and in the sumer abounds with sturgeon, salmon and other 
ffresh water fish. Had we the art of takeing and saveing the sturgeon it would 
prove a very great advantage, the country affording vinegar and other materials to 
do it withall. In this Towne and old Newbury adjoining are 2 meeting-houses. - ” 

The spirit of emigration seems to have been strong in these colonists for the 
town of Newbury is hardly established before its residents are to a considerable 


KATHERINE (DUDLEY) DUMMER, WIFE OF 
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR WILLIAM DUMMER 


21 









REAR OF SPENCER-PI ERCE HOUSE (1651) NEWBURY, MASSACHUSETTS 

number seeking grants for the location of new settlements. Among the places 
which owe their establishment wholly or in part to men of Newbury are Nantucket 
(previously mentioned) Pentucket (Haverhill, Massachusetts) Pennacooke (Con¬ 
cord, New Hampshire), Salisbury, Hampton, New Hampshire, Cochicawicke 
(Andover, Massachusetts), and Woodbridge, New Jersey, named in honor of 
Rev. John Woodbridge, assistant minister of the first church of Newbury. 

More than ten years before Salem’s lamentable witchcraft delusion Caleb 
Powell was “complained of for suspicion of working with the devill to the molest¬ 
ing of William Morse and his family.’’ He was given a lengthy trial before the 
county court and was discharged though not wholly acquitted as the verdict shows: 

“Upon hearing the complaint brought to this court against Caleb Powell for 
suspicion of working by the devill to the molesting of the family of William Morse 
of Newbury, though this court cannot find any evident ground for proceeding 
farther against the sayd Powell, yett we determine that he hath given such ground 
for suspicion of his so dealing that we cannot so aquit him but that he justly de¬ 
serves to beare his owne shame and the costs of prosecution of the complaint. 
It is referred to Mr. Woodbridge to hear and determine the charges.’’ 

The disturbances at the home of William Morse continued during the incar¬ 
ceration of Caleb Powell and after his return and popular judgment, irresponsible 
but powerful, fastened the suspicion of witchery upon Elizabeth Morse the wife of 
William, and she was tried, pronounced guilty, and sentenced as follows: 

“at A Court of Adjourment held at Boston, 20th May, 16S0: 

The Grand Jury presenting Elizabeth morse, ye wife of Wm morse, Sr (she) 
was indicted by the name of Elizabeth morse for that she not hauing the feare of 
God before hir eyes being Instigated by the divil and having had familiarity with 
the divil contrary to the peace of our Souaigne Lord the King his crowne & dig¬ 
nity ye lawes of God of this Jurisdiction: After the prisoner was at ye barre and 
pleaded not Guilty & put hirself on God & ye country for triall ye evidences 
produced were read & committed to ye Jury. 

The Jury brought in Their virdict & they found Elizabeth Morse, the 
prisoner at the barre, Guilty according to Indictm 1 . The Govern 1- on 27th May 
after ye lecture pronounced ye sentence: Elizabeth Morse you are to goe from 
hence to the place from whence you came & thence to the place of execution, there 

22 

































SILVER MINE (NOW ABANDONED) NEWBURY, MASSACHUSETTS 

to be hanged by the neck till you be dead, And the Lord have mercy on your Soul. 

This Court was adjourn d diem per diem & on 1st June 1680: 

The Govern 1- & magis ts voted Reprieving of Elizabeth Morse, condemn^, till the 
next session of the Court in October. 

as Attest Ew d Rawson, Secretary.” 

She was, however, not executed nor pardoned, but from time to time re¬ 
prieved, and finally died at her home, on what is now known as .Market Square, 
Newburyport. 

One of the judges of the court which condemned the Salem witches in 1692 was 
Samuel Sewell of Newbury, afterward Chief Justice, a kindly, accomplished and 
devout man, who lived to see these manifestations in another light, and to deeply 
repent the decisions which had condemned the accused to death. One day of each 
year he spent in fasting and prayer as an atonement for this error. His prophecy 
concerning Newbury, beautified and immortalized by Whittier, is a message of 
faith from the past and an inspiration for the future:— 


“As long as Plum Island, to guard the coast 
As God appointed, shall keep its post; 

As long as the salmon shall haunt the deep 
Of Merrimac River, or sturgeon leap; 

As long as pickerel swift and slim. 

Or red-backed perch, in Crane Pond swim; 

As long as the annual sea-fowl know 
Their time to come and their time to go; 

As long as cattle shall roam at will 
The green, grass meadows of Turkey Hill; 

As long as sheep shall look from the side 
Of Oldtown Hill on marishes wide, 

And Parker River and salt-sea tide; 

As long as a wandering pigeon shall search 
The fields below from his white-oak perch, 
When the barley harvest is ripe and shorn, 

And the dry husks fall from the standing corn ; 
As long as nature shall not grow old, 

Nor drop her work from her doting hold, 

And her care for the Indian corn forget, 


And the yellow rows in pairs to set;— 

So long shall Christians here be born, 

Grow up and ripen as God’s sweet corn 1— 
By the beak of bird, by the breath of frost, 
Shall never a holy ear be lost, 

But, husked by death in the Planter's sight, 
Be sown again in the fields of light I” 

The Island still is purple with plums, 

Up the river the salmon comes, 

The sturgeon leaps, and the wild-flowl feeds 
On hillside berries and marish seeds,— 

All the beautiful signs remain, 

From spring-time sowing to autumn rain 
The good man’s vision returns again! 

And let us hope, as well we can, 

That the Silent Angel who garners man 
May find some grain as of old he found 
In the human cornfield ripe and sound, 

And the Lord of the Harvest deign to own 
The precious seeds by the fathers sown! 




























A LIST OF THE FREEMEN OF NEWBURY, 


1684 


Frauncis Plurner 

May 1 

14, 

1634 

Steven Dume r 

May 22, 

1639 

Thomas Hale 

May 

14, 

1634 

John Osgood 

May 22, 

1639 

John Eales 

May 

14, 

1634 

John Goffe 

May 22, 

1639 

Christopher Hussey 

May 

14, 

1634 

John Mussellwhit 

May 22, 

1639 

M r John Spencer 

Sept. 

3, 

1634 

Steven Kent 

May 22, 

1639 

Henry Shorte 

Sept. 

3, 

1634 

John Rimiugton 

May 22, 

1639 

Phillip Fowler 

Sept. 

3, 

1634 

Thomas Browne 

May 22, 

1639 

M r Tho. Parker 

Sept. 

3, 

1634 

John Moulton 

May 22, 

1639 

M r Nicholas Easton 

Sept. 

3, 

1634 

John Clark 

May 22, 

1639 

M r James Noyes 

Sept. 

3, 

1634 

John Roffe 

Sept. 6, 

1639 

John Webster 

Mar. 

4, 

1634-5 

Anthony Sadler 

Sept. 6, 

1639 

Rich: Kent 

Mar. 

4, 

1634-5 

Thomas Masie 

Sept. 6, 

1639 

John Clerke 

May 

6, 

1635 

John Oliver 

May 13, 

1640 

Rich Browne 

May 

6, 

1635 

John Saunders 

May 13, 

1640 

Will m Moody 

May 

6, 

1635 

John Lowell 

June 2, 

1641 

M r Steven Batchel r 

May 

6, 

1635 

Thos: Davies 

June 2, 

1641 

Willm Mosse 

Mar. 

3, 

1635-6 

John Etnery 

June 2, 

1641 

Rich r d Knight 

May 

25, 

1636 

Samu : Plurner 

June 2, 

1641 

Anthony Mosse 

May 25, 

1636 

John March 

May 18, 

1642 

John Saunders 

May 

25, 

1636 

Rich r d Knight 

May 18, 

1642 

James Browne 

May 

25, 

1636 

John Cooper 

May 18, 

1642 

Edmond Marshall 

May 

17, 

1637 

John Stevens 

May 18, 

1642 

Henry Sewall, Junior 

May 

17, 

1637 

Willi : Stevens 

May 18, 

1642 

Thomas Smythe 

May 

17, 

1637 

Antho : Sommersbey 

May 18, 

1642 

Nicholas Holt 

May 

17, 

1637 

Henry Sommersbey 

May 18, 

1642 

Nicholas Noise 

May 

17, 

1637 

William Berry 

May 18, 

1642 

Archelaus Woodman 

May 

17, 

1637 

Samu : Guil 

May 18, 

1642 

James Browne 

May 

17, 

1637 

Abell Hews 

May 18, 

1642 

John Bartlet 

May 

17, 

1637 

William Gerrish 

July 9, 

1645 

Robert Pike 

May 

17, 

1637 

Christopher Bartlet 

Sept. 29, 

1646 

Thomas Coleman 

May 

17, 

1637 

John Pore 

Mar. 28, 

1648 

John Cheney 

May 

17, 

1637 

John Saunders 

May 22, 

1650 

Edward Rawson 

Mar. 


1637-8 

Tho : Mil ward 

Sept. 7, 

1650 

Daniel Peirce 

May 

2, 

1638 

John Knight 

Sept. 7, 

1650 

Abraham Tappin 

May 

2, 

1638 

Ben : Swet 

Sept. 7, 

1650 

Henry Lunt 

May 

2, 

163S 

John Chattor (Cheater?) Mar. 25, 

1651 

Thomas Hale 

Sept. 

• 7, 

1638 

William Hilton 

May 18, 

1653 

Rich r d Singletery 

Sept. 7, 

163S 

John Kent 

May 3, 

1654 

Christopher Batte 

Mar. 

13, 

1638-9 

Nath: Weare, Senior 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

Edmond Greenliffe 

Mar. 

13, 

1638-9 

Rich: Dole 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

Thomas Moulton 

Mar. 

13, 

1638-9 

John Emery, Jr. 

Mar. 28, 

1654 


24 








































LIST OF FREEMEN—Continued. 




Rich : Bartlett 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

John Knight, Jun. 

May 31, 

1671 

Will: Bartlett 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

Mr. Joseph Gerrish 

May 

7, 

1673 

Will: Cottell 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

Elisha Elsie (Ilsley?) 

May 

7, 

1673 

Tho: Bloomfield 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

James Bayley 

May 

7, 

1673 

Tho Seers 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

Dani: Cheny 

May 

7, 

1673 

Will: Chandlour 

Mar. 28, 

1654 

Joseph Browne 

May 

7, 

1673 

John Davis 

Mar. 28, 

1657 

Sam: Poore 

May 

7, 

1673 

Joseph Noyes 

Mar. 31, 

1657 

Moses Pilsbury 

May 

7, 

1673 

Joseph Muzzey 

Mar. 31, 

1657 

Benja: Morse 

May 

7, 

1673 

John Webster 

Sept. 29, 

1657 

Sam: Bartlet 

May 

7, 

1673 

Tho: Hale 

Sept. 28, 

1658 

John Noyes 

Jan. 

9, 

1673-4 

John Allen 

Mar. 29, 

1659 

Cutting Noyes 

Jan. 

9, 

1673-4 

Soloman Keyes 

Mar. 29, 

1659 

John Lunt 

Jan. 

9, 

1673 4 

Robert Addams 

Mar. 27, 

1660 

Abra: Adams 

Jan. 

9, 

1673-4 

Abraham Merrill 

Sept. 30, 

1662 

John Badger 

Jan. 

9, 

1673-4 

Dani: Pearse 

May 27, 

1663 

Joseph Gerrish 

Jan. 

9, 

1673-4 

Shubal Dumer 

May 3, 

1665 

John Sewall 

May 12, 

1675 

Samuel Moody 

May 23, 

1666 

John Richardson 

May 12, 

1675 

Caleb Moody 

May 23, 

1666 

Sam: Sayer 

May 

12, 

1675 

W m Peelsbury 

Apr. 29, 

1668 

Benj a Morse 

May 

12, 

1675 

James Ordway 

Apr. 29, 

1668 

Tho: Wells 

Sept. 28, 

1675 

Nath: Clarke 

Apr. 29, 

1668 

Joseph Morse 

Sept. 28, 

1675 

Tristram Coffin 

Apr. 29, 

1668 

Rich. Dumer Jun. 

May 23, 

1677 

James Kent 

May 19, 

1669 

Hen: Short 

May 

23, 

1677 

Ju° Kent 

May 19, 

1669 

Steph: Greenleaf 

May 23, 

1677 

Jn° Bartlet, Jun. 

May 19, 

1669 

Jacob Topan 

May 23, 

1677 

Ju° Wells 

May 19, 

1669 

Rich: Bartlet, Jun. 

May 23, 

1677 

Abiel Somersby 

May 19, 

1669 

Juo: Dole 

Oct. 

15, 

1679 

Henry Jacquish 

May 19, 

1669 

John Sewall 

April 15, 

1679 

Benja: Lowell 

May 19, 

1669 

Charles Annis 

April 15, 

1679 

John Bayley 

May 19, 

1669 

John Pengitta( Pettin g ell? )April 15, 

1679 

Joseph Plumer 

May 11, 

1670 

Caleb Boynton 

Mar. 

29, 

1681 

Benj: Rolfe 

May 11, 

1670 

Daniel Lunt 

Feb. 

7, 

1682-3 

John Poore Jun. 

May 11, 

1670 

Daniel Merrill 

Feb. 

7, 

1682-3 

Franc : Thurlo 

May 11, 

1670 

Wm. Moody 

Feb. 

7, 

1682-3 

Nicho: Batt 

May 11, 

1670 

George March 

May 

16, 

1683 

Job Pilsbury 

May 11, 

1670 

Joseph Knight 

Feb. 

13, 

1683-4 

Paul White 

May 31, 

1671 

Tymothy Noys 

Feb. 

13, 

1683-4 

Tho: Noyes 

May 31, 

1671 

James Jackman 

Feb. 

13, 

1683-4 

Jonathan Morse 

May 31, 

1671 

W m Elsly 

Feb. 

13, 

1683-4 

James Smith 

May 31, 

1671 

Dane 1 Merrill 

May 

7, 

1684 

John Smith 

May 31, 

1671 

Jn° Bartlet 

May 

7, 

1684 


25 



























COMPILED BY 
GEORGE P. TILTON 
Or the Towle mfg. Company 

CHIEFLY FROM 

THE HISTORY OF NEWBURY, ENGLAND 
By Walter Money, F. S. A., 

AND 

THE HISTORY OF NEWBURY, 
MASSACHUSETTS, 
by John j. currier, 
(BOSTON-DAM RELL &. UPHAM). 


PRINTED BY 

SPRINGFIELD PRINTING AND BINDING CO. 
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 

1907 



































NEWBURY 


HE production of the Newbury pattern, the significance of the name 
of which is apparent from the foregoing pages, was the fulfilment 
of a definite purpose which recognized the availability of a design 
having the purity and simplicity of the early Colonial work with 
such enrichment as was possible with the preservation of this 
character. 

Besides the wide and rapidly extending interest based on the sentiment of 
ancestral associations, there are fundamental principles of good taste in support 
of the universal appreciation of Colonial architecture and furniture. True beauty 
of design always reflects the nature of the materials and a straightforward method 
of subjecting them. In early days when appliances were few and simple this 
being the path of least resistance was naturally followed. The refined and delicate 
mouldings on a Colonial door or mantel were made by hand by a joiner whose 
physical strength would have been insufficient to propel a plane large enough to 
produce the exaggerations so easily turned out by the powerful machines of today. 
In like manner the Colonial silversmith fashioned his wares with hammer and 
anvil into the shapes that such tools would naturally form, and adorned them with 
the tracery of the graver or chasing tool. Refinement within these limitations 
was his highest aim, and with all the possibilities of varied and resistless machin¬ 
ery we can today produce nothing more beautiful or worthy. 

The• Newbury pattern, while from commercial necessity made by modern 
methods, might easily have been hammered out and similarly ornamented by the 
Colonial workman. The bowls of the dozen-work are studied with especial care 
and follow the most symmetrical models. 

An especial convenience possessed by this line of Flatware is the multiplicity 
of sizes of these standard pieces by which is obtained a range of prices to meet 
all requirements while preserving an equally advantageous distribution of silver 
with consequent uniformity of strength and proportion. This has also another 
advantage where the individual equipment is extensive in that a size of spoon or 
fork can be selected that will be best adapted for any particular use. 

It is available in chest combinatioms from the simplest to that of several 
hundred pieces embracing a complete outfit suitable for a bridal gift. These can 
be obtained only of Jewelers and dealers in silverware. 

THE TOWLE MFG. COMPANY DOES NO RETAIL BUSINESS ANYWHERE 




STERLING 

TOWLE MFG. COMPANY 

Silversmiths 

NEWBURYPORT : MASSACHUSETTS 


CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
149& 151 State St. 


27 


NEW YORK CITY 
41 Union Square 












































Coflee Spoon. 


Tea Spoon, P. M. 


Tea Spoon, No. 10. 


Tea Spoon, No. 9. 



length, SA inches. 



Tea Spoon, Nos. 12 and 1 



Length. SH inches. 


28 






























u ry 


ea Spoon, Nos. 16 and 18. 



ill 





Length, 6 inches. 


ACTUAL SIZE 



•TCMUNO 


Sterling Silver 
925 


1000 


FINE 



































e w b u ry 




Table Spoon, 
Nos. }9, 45 and 49. 


Table Spoon, No. H 


ACTUAL SIZE 


•▼CHLINO 


Sterling Silver 




925 


FINE 




1000 


30 




















zAf e w b u ry< 


Tea Fork 


Dessert Fork. 


Table Fork, No. 


Table Fork, 
Nos. )9 and 4J. 



•tcmumc 


Sterlinc Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 


31 







































































e w b a ry 











































'{N e w b u ry* 


Berry Spoon, small. 


Orange Spoon. 


Berry Spoon, large. 



ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 


33 































■*jV e w b u ry 


Soup Spoon, small. 


Bouillon Spoon. 


Chocolate Spoon. 


Chocolate Muddler. 


Lemonade Spoon 


' 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STERLING 


Sterling Silver 


34 








































yV e vu b u ry< 






























ACTUAL SIZE 


■*JV e w b u ry 


















37 








1/V e w b u ry 


Butter Knife Pick. 


Oyster Fork. 


Olive Fork, small. 



38 













































*jV e w b u ry 



Olive Fork 


Terrapin Fork. 


Berry Fork. 


Lettuce Fork. 


Bread Fork. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


■ TOUINC 


Sterling Silver 


39 



































































Individual 
Fish Fork. 


Lobster Fork 


ACTUAL SIZi 


Sterling Silvei 


e w b u ry 






40 

































































t/V e w b u ry 



Individual 
Salad Fork, small. 


Individual 
Salad Fork, large. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterlinc Silver 
925 


1000 


FINE 


Spinach Fork. 


41 














































yV e w b u ry 


Asparagus Fork. 


t 



Ice Cream Fork. 


ACTUAL 


Sterling Silver- 

































yV^ e w b u ry 


Toast Server. 



Sardine Fork, large 


Sardine Fork, small. 


ACTUAL SIZE 




Sterling Silver 


43 




























44 


























u ry 




Timm 11 irnmTTiTrmm 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 




Crumb Knife. 


45 






































z/Ve w b u ry 



46 

























zW e w b u ry 




Pudding Spoon. 


Vegetable Spoon. 

























yV e w b a ry 


K 



Lemon Server 


Cheese Server. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 



















yV e w b u ry 


Confection Spoon 



Tomato Server. 


Patty Server. 


ACTUAL SIZE 




Sterling Silver 




925 
1000 


FINE 


49 

























t 


yV e w b u ry 



Jelly Knife. 



Vegetable Fork. 


Cheese Scoop. 



SO 


FINE 
































yV e w b u ry 



Cucumber Server. 


Macaroni Server 


Oyster Server. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 




























Pie Sen'er. 


ACTUAL SIZE 



52 




















> u ry 






53 





























"JV e w b u ry 


Salad Spoon. 


Salad Fork. 


/ 




Sterling Silver 
925 


1000 


FINE 


ACTUAL SIZE 

































yV e w b u ry 


Pea Server. 


Ice Spoon, large 


ACTUAL SIZE 


































h 


yV e w b u 



Cracker Scoop. 



1000 


56 



























"jV e w b u ry 


Bonbon Scoop. 

































1/V e w b u ry 



Ice Tongs. 


Sugar Tongs. 


Tete-a-tete Tongs. 


Asparagus Tongs. 



ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterlinc Silver 







































zN e w b u ry 



59 













































6o 













































Roast Holder, small. 





61 



































e w h a ry 



ACTUAL SIZE 



62 





k 




na umiujnnnniLUum rr 

















































yV e w b u ry< 

































*JV e w b u ry 




Cbest IHlo. 361. 


“COMMON SENSE.” 

Oak or Mahogany, with name-plate and feet. Height, 4{^ inches. Front, 1 7| inches. 

Front to back, 12 T 7 ff inches. 

Accommodates 5 dozen Spoons and Forks in ten vertical piles, 2 dozen Knives, and 

3 Piece Carving Set. 


DECK. 

12 Tea Spoons 
12 Dessert Spoons 
12 Table Spoons 

LID. 

12 Dessert Knives 


12 Dessert Forks 
12 Table Forks 
3 Piece Carving Set 

12 Medium Knives 


64 















THE WORKS OF THE 

* 

rOWLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 

SILVERSMITHS 


65 


'QOQQQQQQl 


































































































i 



66 


TOWLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, SILVERSMITHS NEWBURYPORT, MASS. 













































6 ? 


WORKS OF THE TOWLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, SILVERSMITHS, NEWBURYPORT MASS. 























TRADE 


STERLING 


rnnyiT 

It S' ni 


SALESROOMS OF THE 

TOWLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 


HEYWORTH BUILDING 


CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 


MADISON STREET 


ftooeftonoaoi 







































































a pattern of 


spoons, fortes 


ana ate otftet pieced of y gall ic jflat 
saare ¥■ tjg fulty jgliotun in ttyd ftooft, in 
1 1 toflieft id algo giben an account of tfoe cfiicf 

efreuts of tfteg &a r of tfle licbointfon 

and tfie act-6? of oppression totyefj preceded 

IL————————————— ■ ■■■ — ——— 

and probofeed it; to btyiefi ate added duttdrp 
j pictures' of places and gfttu&S identified 


toitfi tflid momentous conflict & and in dome 


cabed ejeempiitying tye Colonial, or modt 


property called <j£eovgta n dtple of ateflk 
tectnre, from btyicfl tfte design of ttyd pattern 
id derided; btyiefi dtple toad firdt produced in 


Suslantr in tye ngfitrcntfi tentttrg and 


toad tfie result of an adaptation of classical 


all of fotycfl id ap 


purtenant to tfie 


name mb times 











































































































A 



PROCLAMATION, 

For fuppreffing Rebellion and Sedition. 


GEORGE R. 

HERE AS many of Our Subjefts in divers Parts of Our Colonies and Plantation* 
in North America, milled by dangerous and ill-defigmng Men, and forgetting 
the Allegiance which they owe to the Power that has protected and fuftained 
them, after various difordcrly Afls committed in Difturbance of the Publick 
Peace, to the Obftruftion of lawful Commerce, and to the Oppreflion of Our 
loyal SubjefU carrying on the fame, have at length proceeded to an open ond 
avowed Rebellion, by arraying thcmfelves in hoftile Manner to withftand the 
Execution of the Law, and traitoroufly preparing', ordering, and levying War 
againft Us; And whereas there is Reafon to apprehend that fuch Rebellion hath 
been much promoted and encouraged by the traitr rous Correfpondence, Counfcls, and Comfort of 
divers wicked and defperate Pcrfons within this Realm : To the End therefore that none of Our Subjects 
may neglefl or violate their Duty through Ignorance thereof, or through any Doubt of the Protection 
which the Law will afford to their Loyalty and Zeal; We have thought fit, by and with the Advice of 
Our Privy Council, to ifTue this Our Royal Proclamation, hereby declaring that not only all Our 
Officers Civil and Military are obliged to exert their utmoft Endeavours to fupprefs fuch Rebellion, and 
to bring the Traitors to Juftice; but that all Our Subjects of this Realm and the Dominions'thereunto 
belonging are bound by Law to be aiding and affifting.irf the Suppreffion of fuch Rebellion, and to 
difclofc and make known all traitorous Confpiracics and Attempts againft Us, Our Crown and Dignity; 
And We do accordingly Arj&ly charge and command all Our Officers as well Civil as Military, 
and aft other Our obedient and loyal Subjefts, to ufe their utmoft Endeavours to withftand and 
Jupprefs fuch. Rebellion, and to difclofc and make known all Treafons and traitorous Conffu* 
racics which they (hall know to be againft Us, Our Crown and Dignity ; and for that Purpole, 
that they tr'anfmit to One of Our Principal Secretaries of State, or other proper Officer, due and 
full Information of all Pcrfons who (hall be found carrying on Correfpondence with, or in any 
Manner or Degree aiding or abetting the Pcrfons now in open Arms 4 and. Rebellion againft Our 
Government within any of Our Colonies and Plantations in North America. in order to bring to 
condign Puniffiment the Authors, Perpetrators, and Abettors of fuch traitorous Dcfigns. 

Given at Our Court at St James's, the Twenty-third Dsy of Augujl, One thoufand 
feven hundred and fcvcnty*five, in the Fifteenth Year of Our Reign. 

God fave the King. 


LONDON, 

Printed by Charles tyre and William Stralan. Printers to the King's moil Excellent Majefty, 1775* 




Compiled and Arranged by George P. Tilton, of The Towle Mfg. Company. 

Press of Springfield Printing and Binding Company, 

Springfield, Massachusetts. 


Copyright, 1906, by The Towle Mfg. Company. 



















umnimMMinii:-' 


"|N the outskirts of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by the water’s edge, 
= /^\ = stands a picturesque old mansion that will, if we are so minded, carry 
= V^/ = us backward, at one step, to the “Old Colony days” when George 
....1 III ruled over the English people on both sides of the Atlantic. 

It was built by Governor Benning Wentworth, and from under its roof 
issued those first edicts of oppression that stirred the people to revolt. Within 
its walls one needs but little help from fancy to people it again with loyal re¬ 
tainers, assembled, perhaps, in its ancient council chamber, with ample chim¬ 
ney-piece, the carven heads of which might, could they exercise the privilege of 
their sex, reveal many a bit of inner history. We are prosaic indeed if we do not 
feel the menace of sudden alarms suggested by the grim array of muskets on either 
side of the stoutly barred door ; and the discovery of a prisoner’s ward, tucked away 
in a remote corner, should complete a realization of the stern conditions of life in the 
eighteenth century. 

It is not our purpose, however, to linger in this house, fascinating though it be, 
but to pass through it from the world of to-day to the times it so vividly recalls. 
Two names that are intimately connected with it will readily take us across the 
ocean, and back through a century and more, to the court of the king whose mis¬ 
guided policy was the birth-warrant of our nation. One of these we find in New¬ 
castle, separated by a devious inlet from Little Harbor — where Governor Wentworth 
built — and reminiscent of the Duke of Newcastle who was prime minister of 
England and leader of the Whig party at the beginning of the Revolutionary period. 
A few years later, after the turn of events had deprived him of power, he again 
entered the cabinet with the post of privy seal under the leadership of the Marquis of 
Rockingham, a member of the Wentworth family, for whom Governor Wentworth 
had named the county back of Portsmouth and Newcastle. 

Although nominally representative of the people. Parliament was in those days 
the creature of its leaders, or the King, as successive complications favored one or the 
other ; boroughs were bought or bullied by the dominant party, and thus the mo¬ 
mentous enactments that goaded the colonists to revolt were the results of contested 


intrigue, a game with living 
played by the government 
which the English people 
The conception of the 
to Jenkinson, secretary to 
vored minister; but Parlia- 


Hu © in ?pou«c 



pieces and tremendous stakes, 
and the opposition, and in 
had little real voice, 
odious Stamp Act is credited 
Lord Bute, the King’s fa- 
ment rejected it when first 

Stamp 




I 75° 

* 7(>5 


1762 

1765 


1762 


















2 



Covetttoc mJeutwoettv ISjeuse 



17b5 


1778 


' 7^5 

1766 


proposed, although it was universally conceded that America should contribute to the 
payment of the enormous public debt contracted in the protection of the colonies 
from the French and Indians. Even Americans acquiesced in this sentiment, but 
they proposed to pay it by grants from their assemblies and in their own way. 
George, however, had been exhorted by his mother, the Princess Dowager, to “be 
a king” and encouraged to assert his individuality — advice which conditions did not 
favor, nor the King’s ability warrant, but which he persistently endeavored to carry 
out in spite of its disastrous effect. Under these circumstances the proposition to 
levy a stamp tax was revived and the act passed in February, 1765. William Pitt, 
the constant champion of the colonies, was ill at the time, and greatly deplored its 
passage. Throughout the remainder of his life, which ended while the war was in 
progress, Pitt, afterwards Lord Chatham, was an ardent advocate of the liberties of the 
colonists ; but his efforts were of little avail, and although he was at one time urged 
by the King to form a ministry, many concessions being made to induce him to do 
so, personal ambition and the resulting internal friction had so divided his party 
that he was unable to unite the leaders, and the policy then in force was suffered to 
continue. 

In America the Stamp Act was resented as a measure of arbitrary domination, an 
irritating and unreasonable form of taxation with no compensatory representation. 
Virginia was the first colony to voice the opposition to this measure, and was imme¬ 
diately followed by Massachusetts, which proposed a congress of delegates from the 
assemblies of all the colonies to take united action in protest. The congress met in 
1765, and as a result of this, and Pitt’s scathing denunciation in England, the Stamp 
Act was repealed early in the following year. 

The King from this time lost no opportunity of strengthening his party in 
Parliament, and by the patronage he could dispense and the intimidation of country 
boroughs, was able to control both houses and secure the enactment of his policy. 
His next measure was the levying of import duties on colonial commerce, which waj 


3T i)t Stamp %ct 


























































(Georgian 

growing rapidly in importance, espe¬ 
cially with the West Indies; and with 
England alone amounted to about six 
million pounds per year, nearly equal¬ 
ling the total of British commerce with 
the world at the beginning of that 
century. This also met with bitter 
protest and was later repealed on every- 
but tea, which was made to bear 
the burden of the principle of English 
sovereignty. This principle was as 
clearly discerned in America as in Eng¬ 
land, and the renunciation of tea be- 
atriotism. Philadelphia 
had publicly denounced all traffic in 
tea, and the act had been endorsed by 
Boston when three ships laden with 
the obnoxious commodity arrived at 
the latter port. Their arrival was fol¬ 
lowed by indignant gatherings in Fan- 
euil Hall, and the consignees were 
forced by public opinion to promise 
that the ships would be sent back with¬ 
out unloading; but this the Royal Gov¬ 
ernor refused to permit, and declared 
that no clearance papers would be is¬ 
sued until the cargoes were discharged. 

At the close of a particularly demon¬ 
strative meeting held at the Old South Church on the afternoon of December 
sixteenth, 1773, a party of fifty citizens, disguised as Indians, led the way to the 
wharf, and, boarding the vessels, scattered into the harbor the contents of three 
hundred and forty-two chests, the property of the East India Company, valued in the 
neighborhood of one hundred thousand dollars. 

In consequence of this action and lesser excuses, Massachusetts was subjected to ' 
a repressive policy which deprived the colonists of many liberties and was intended 
to precipitate a struggle, which the King believed would be short and decisive, for 

the purpose of finally settling the dependence of the 
colonies and the sovereignty of England. 

The effect of this “Port Bill,” as the chief of 
these measures was called, was — as was expected — 
to confirm the colonists in their resistance, but not in 
the rash and isolated way that was hoped for. Keen, 
powerful intellects guided the people, in the persons 
of Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, 
and others, and they immediately set about to secure 
the cooperation of the other colonies, many of which 
were ripe for action, notably Virginia, where Patrick 

Stamp 

Boston Sra J)arty 



came a test of p 



(BUitmtcy-piece 


1767 


1 qV.. 1770 






^ J . ' . ^ ^ ^ ■ ■ . _ ■ B ' j.. .. 

/. a 

jSSTHp 

I 

.... ; ^A 

VTV-: 

UlimfttwtU Ijtitmsc 



*773 







































































































4 


7 /‘L 5 Henry had some years earlier openly denounced British oppression, but had lacked 
the clear issues prevalent in the Bay State. They organized a Committee of Corres¬ 
pondence, and, authorized by the General Assembly of Massachusetts, urged each 
! 774 colony to send delegates to a congress at Philadelphia on the first of the following 
September. 

In June of that year, 1774, the port of Boston, then under the military rule of 
General Gage — who had superseded Governor Hutchinson — was closed to com¬ 
merce, causing a complete stagnation of business of all kinds, and much deprivation 
and suffering among the people. 

A considerable element in Parliament was strongly opposed to this cruelty, 
and champions of the cause of America were not lacking who predicted the ultimate 
ruin England would suffer from this unwarranted oppression of her own sons, to 
whom, as they urged, the sentiments of liberty were as precious, and whose strength 
of purpose was as great, as though no ocean separated them from the free institutions 
of the mother country. They were powerless, however, to check the wave of vin¬ 
dictiveness that now, under the fostering care of the King’s favorites, was extending 
even to the people. 

The large cities, always the strongholds of advanced ideas, were still in sympathy 
with the colonists, and the spectacle is presented of the city of London, in its corporate 
capacity, subscribing one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the relief of suffering 
in Boston, caused by the acts of Parliament. These were eventful days in the New 
England town, for although the people suffered, their enthusiasm was in no way 
diminished, and they overthrew all civil institutions emanating from the crown. 

Many prominent people who had until this 
time reserved the right to support the King’s 
government and hoped for a peaceful settle¬ 
ment of all troubles, now saw the serious¬ 
ness of the situation, and realizing the near 
approach of inevitable division, sank their 
personal regrets in love of country and joined 
heartily in the cause of liberty. 

On the fifth of September, fifty-three 
delegates assembled in Carpenter’s Hall, 
Philadelphia, and under the presidency of 
Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, formed a Con¬ 
tinental Congress. While recognizing the 
necessity of united action, these delegates, as 
a whole, had not yet reached a realization of 
the need of aggressive rebellion. The habit 
of loyalty was too strong to be put off at 
once, and it was with a certain deference, 
albeit firmness, that they appealed to the 
King, and to the people of Great Britain, to 
withdraw the odious measures that threat¬ 
ened to alienate the colonies. Georgia, the 
especial prot6g6 of the King, was alone un¬ 
represented at this gathering, and though at 


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heart the delegates dreaded 
the culmination of events 
which their acts were for¬ 
warding, the congress 
adopted measures to 
strengthen the union and 
co-operation of the states, 
indorsed Massachusetts in 
its resistance, and planned 
and appointed a second 
congress to meet the fol¬ 
lowing May. Although 
independence was not yet 
declared, and, in the minds 
of many, was only a re¬ 
mote possibility, it was in 
reality inaugurated on that 
twentieth of October, 

1774, when the “Dec- "*■ 

laration of Colonial ■**.•*.■*' 

Rights,” a comprehensive document which recited the injustices of Parliament and 
asserted the right of self-government, was signed by the “American Association,” 
the forerunner of the confederacy later announced as the “United States ol 
America.” 

As seed cast on fertile ground germinates and develops of its innate powers, so 
the American Revolution needed but the lightest sanction of administrative authority. 

Its real life was the unwavering determination of individuals and communities to meet 
squarely every issue, to see great principles behind even small aggressions, to neither 
palliate nor compromise, to rise above considerations of policy and to act from the first 
with no provision for failure and no desire for qualified victory. 

Separation from the mother country was but incidental to this struggle, and was 
only determined upon when in the progress of events it was recognized as inevitable. 

The principles of liberty for which the patriots contended were no less applicable here 
than in England itself, where their kinsmen had declared and enacted them nearly a 
century before. 

This spirit was manifest, but it was King George, with his succession of blundering 
provocations, who nourished the Revolution. Had he realized the quality of the 
resistance and listened to the entreatings of Franklin and the other colonial agents at 
Parliament, he could easily have retained that loyalism which was dear to the colon¬ 
ists, and the price of which was only the extension of equal liberty to his subjects at 
home and abroad. 

Although at this time the Americans were endeavoring to obtain a peaceful estab¬ 
lishment of their rights, they clearly perceived the need of military organization, and 
in November the “Provincial Congress” of Massachusetts, — the General Court 777^ 
under a new name — voted to enroll twelve thousand “minute men” who were to 
be prepared to respond immediately when the conflict should begin ; later it declared 
its wish for peace, but advised preparations for war. Other colonies took similar 


Efje “American UssocUUon” 






















































6 


action and many minor episodes took place which are locally held 
to be the initiative of the Revolution. December sixth, the peo¬ 
ple of Rhode Island seized a large quantity of ordnance in the 
batteries at Newport, in anticipation of its employment by the 
King’s troops, and the same action was taken on the thirteenth 
by the people of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who seized and 
removed a large quantity of ammunition and ordnance then in 
the keeping of the garrison of Fort William and Mary, at New¬ 
castle. In the following February, the people of Salem, Mas¬ 
sachusetts, taking heed from the warning of their governing body, 
began preparations for defense. These were met by an expedi¬ 
tion from Gage’s forces at Boston, and an engagement was 
narrowly averted. The real uprising, however, from which 
armed rebellion dates, was to come later at Concord and Lex¬ 
ington. 

Parliament had 

in Massachusetts and embarked large reinforcements to the three 
thousand British troops in Boston, while the patriots watched 
every movement of the British and prepared to meet their first 
advance, which in the nature of things could not long be de¬ 
layed. General Gage, the British commander, realized it to be 
his duty to break up these preparations, and planned a secret 
raid on the stores and munitions which the Americans had con¬ 
centrated at Concord, some miles from Boston, in order that they 
might be safely outside the line of fortifications which the British 
were erecting. The plan also included the capture of John 
Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were believed to be in that 
neighborhood, and who were justly regarded as most dangerous to British interests. 
With this object troops to the number of eight hundred left Boston for Cambridge 
i 775 shortly before midnight of April eighteenth, and with such speed as was possible, 
marched toward Lexington, on the road to Concord. They had counted on the 
secrecy of their movements to make the attainment of their object easy, but in this they 
underestimated the watchfulness and penetration of their opponents, for their purpose 
was understood in advance and measures taken to spread the alarm when they should 
actually start. 

Paul Revere had obtained the information, and he repaired to Charlestown that 
evening, there to await the signal which he had directed to be shown from the spire 
of the North Church when the soldiers were known to have started. The two 
lights, telling him that they had gone by water to Cambridge, shone out at eleven 
o’clock and started Revere on his momentous ride. He was obliged to take a cir¬ 
cuitous route to escape British sentinels, who challenged him and who would have cap¬ 
tured a less alert man. In spite of this he gained a great 
advance over the attacking force, and alarmed the country to 
Lexington, where he awakened Adams and Hancock, and 
was joined by two others in his ride toward Concord. 

They were hardly started when they were intercepted by 
British officers and Revere and Dawes were taken prisoners, 

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while Dr. Prescott, the 
third member of the party, 
jumped his horse over a 
wall and escaped to carry 
the alarm the remainder of 
the way. 

What it meant to the 
farmers was evident when, 
early in the morning, the 
regulars reached Lexington 
and found the minute-men 
drawn up on the green to 
meet them. Compared 
with the British, the patriots 
were few and were poorly 
equipped and drilled, but 
their cause was righteous 
and they believed in it in 
the face of death. They, 
therefore, paid no heed to 
the demand that they dis¬ 
perse, but met force with force and shed the first blood of the Revolution. Eight 
Americans were killed and others wounded, and the British then continued their 
march to Concord. Their commander. Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, alarmed by the 
evidences of resistance that he encountered, had sent back to Boston for reinforce¬ 
ments, which were hastening to his assistance. 

Their mission at Concord was accomplished mgloriously to the extent of destroy¬ 
ing such few stores and guns as the Americans had been unable to secrete, and they 
were about to return when they discovered the minute-men advancing from the farther 
side of the North Bridge. They essayed to cut off the approach of the Americans 
by removing the bridge, but were too late, and, being obliged to retreat or fire, chose 
the latter, and were answered by a volley which drove them from their position. This 
was the beginning of the first real fight, the passage at Lexington being hardly main¬ 
tained to an extent to justify that title. The farmers withdrew to such shelter as they 
could find and awaited further movements of the regulars, who started about noon 
for their return to Boston. Their march was the signal for renewed firing by the 
Americans, who followed them, and from the shelter of stone walls and trees de¬ 
livered a harassing and destructive fire. 

Thoroughly routed, they were fast being reduced when they were met by 
the advancing reinforcements, one thousand men under Lord Percy, and for a while 
they rested under this protection. The remainder of the retreat, even with the 
greatly increased force, was a repetition of the beginning, and when they finally 
arrived in Charlestown, and under the guns of the British ships, they were in 
almost a panic. 

Thus began the Revolution; and the alarm carried by Paul Revere was extended 
in all directions until every road leading to Concord was filled with minute-men 
hastening to reinforce their compatriots. They remained in waiting a few days. 


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but no further attack being made they returned to their homes for completer organ¬ 
ization and equipment. They realized that the struggle which was now begun meant 
systematic operations of defense, for which they were as yet unprepared, and an 
army was recruited and established in Cambridge to be ready for such action as 
might be necessary. 

In the meantime the Massachusetts delegation to the second Congress had 
journeyed, in a succession of ovations, to Philadelphia, and were assured of the approval 
and support of the intervening colonies. May tenth, the day this Congress opened, 
was signalized, though the members knew not of it, by the capture of Ticonderoga 
by an expedition from Connecticut under Colonel Ethan Allen, and a large quantity 
of ammunition and ordnance was turned over to the army. Events were moving 
rapidly without Congress, but it was essential that there be a central authority to out¬ 
line the policy to be pursued and provide means for effecting it. Even now Con¬ 
gress distrusted its own right to be, and repeated its supplications to George III to 
settle without further bloodshed the differences that existed. 

These entreatings evidence the reluctance of the delegates to forswear their 
allegiance to England, but the fact that they nevertheless took such measures as were 
possible to organize and equip an army is proof also of their steadiness of purpose and 
desperate belief in the worthiness of their cause. 

The first important act of Congress was the appoint¬ 
ment of George Washington, one of the delegates from 
Virginia, commander-in-chief of the American army, 
which was then, to the number of upwards of fifteen thou¬ 
sand men, encamped in the vicinity of Boston. 

This army, recruited by the Provincial Congress 
j ; of Massachusetts, was made up of the minute-men who 

had risen on the alarm of Lexington, but who had, in the 
meantime, returned to their homes for reorganization, and 
later volunteers, with considerable reinforcements from 
neighboring states, notably New Hampshire and Con¬ 
necticut ; and under the leadership 
of officers whose names are now the 
foundations of Revolutionary history, 
was besieging Boston and planning to 
drive out the British, or at least to 
prevent them from increasing their 
holdings. 

While Washington was preparing 
to start for New England, events in 
Boston were rapidly shaping them¬ 
selves for the active operations of war. 
General Gage, the British commander, 
was forced to take measures to 
maintain his position, and determined to forestall the Americans in the occupation of 
Charlestown, across the river, and so near his headquarters that he was liable at any 
time to be subjected to a harassing fire. His plans were disturbed, however, by the dis¬ 
covery, on the morning of June seventeenth, of fortifications which the Americans had 



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thrown up on Bunker Hill in one short night. 

It had become known to the American 
commanders that Gage contemplated moving 
on the eighteenth, and over a thousand hardy 
and intelligent men, under skillful direction, 
worked with pick and shovel from the settling 
of darkness on the sixteenth to the dawn of 
the seventeenth, and then, with slight rein¬ 
forcements, awaited the attack of the British. 

Prescott, Warren, Stark, and Knowlton 
were among the American commanders, and 
by their personal bravery and perseverance 
they sustained the courage of their men, with 
the result that the British attacking force of 
three thousand, with all its perfect equip¬ 
ment, was twice repulsed with fearful loss, 
and only yielded to after a third destructive 
charge, and when the last round of their 

meagre ammunition was exhausted. Under the cover of a protecting fire from a line 


r 775 



of auxiliary defense, a part of the original plan, the Americans retreated and left the 
British in possession of one of the most dearly bought battle-fields of history. The 
British loss was enormous, and this engagement prevented further aggression beyond 
the limits of their original holding. It also resulted in the superseding of Gage by 
General Howe, as commander of all the British forces. The news of this battle 
reached Washington soon after he had left Philadelphia, and aroused in him con¬ 
fidence in the eventual success of the American cause. He arrived in the vicinity 
of Boston on July second, and on the third took command of the troops drawn up on 
Cambridge common. 

This army, though considerable in numbers and overflowing with patriotism, was 
lacking in military organization, and to the task of drilling and uniting it, and also 
supplying ammunition and further equipment, Washington applied himself through the 
summer and following winter, while maintaining a close siege over the British in 
Boston. Early in March, 1776, under the cover of a bombardment from his base 7776 
of operations, Washington secretly marched a large body of men to Dorchester 
Heights, a commanding position on the opposite side of Boston, and one of ex¬ 
treme menace to the British. The latter awoke on the morning of March fifth, to 
find a repetition of the frowning embankments that had spurred them to action on 
Bunker Hill, this time on the landward side of the town, though separated from it 
by a small bay. 

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Howe made preparations for attack, but 
unfavorable weather prevailed for a day or two, giving the Americans opportunity for 

strengthening their position, and after 
some days of hesitation, the British 
evacuated Boston, sailing away on March 
seventeenth, and carrying with them 
about a thousand Tories, whom they 


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transported with their goods to Halifax. 
New England, the birthplace of the 
Revolution, was thus saved to the Ameri¬ 
cans, and freed, for the most part, from 
further strife in the barely awakened 
cause. 

Washington, from time of taking com¬ 
mand of the army, was the centre of inter¬ 
est, and the course of the Revolution was 
chiefly with the troops under his personal 
direction ; but it is necessary, in even an 
outline of the war, to note certain secon¬ 
dary expeditions and lesser incidents in 
progress at the time when Washington 
was encamped before Boston. 

Canada was recognized from the first, 
by the American leaders, as a menace to 
the unity of the colonies by reason of 
the possibilities it offered as a base for 
operations through the valley of the Hud¬ 
son to the sea-coast, which would isolate 
New England and prevent its intercom¬ 
munication, either offensive or defensive, 

~ •- ; - with other sections. To obviate this 

danger, Washington early decided to at¬ 
tempt the conquest of Canada, and organized two expeditions, to travel different 
routes and meet at Quebec for a joint assault. 

One under Montgomery passed up Lake Champlain and captured Montreal and 
intervening points. The other under Benedict Arnold embarked at Newburyport, 
and then, following the Kennebec River, and through the wilderness beyond, reached 
Quebec in December, 1775, after a journey of extraordinary difficulty and hardship. 
Montgomery, with but a remnant of his forces, soon arrived, and with those of Arnold 
— also greatly diminished — formed an attacking body of but little over a thousand 
men, to assault a city noted for its strong situation and elaborate fortifications. The 
attempt, though gallant and for a time encouraging, failed with the death of Mont¬ 
gomery and wounding of Arnold; and although held besieged by the latter for 
the rest of the winter, the city remained in the possession of the British, and 
in the spring the Americans were forced, by the approach of a powerful relief 

1776 

expedition under Sir Guy Carleton, to abandon their advantage and leave Canada 
for good and all. 

At this time the British were using their ships, against which we could as yet 
oppose none, to harass outlying ports, and with apparently no plan other than the 
resulting terror and apprehension in all coast towns. Falmouth, Maine, now Port¬ 
land, was bombarded and then burned; and the British, at the instigation of Lord 
1 775 Dunmore, Governor of the Province, attacked Hampton, Virginia, and later Nor¬ 
folk. At both places they were repulsed, but Norfolk suffered heavily from bombard¬ 
ment and fire. Patriotism in the South was further stimulated by an attack on 


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Charleston, South Carolina, a few months later. A large fleet under Admiral Parker, 
with General Clinton for military commander, was organized to take that city 
and subdue the surrounding country ; news of this plan reached South Carolina, and 
active preparations were made to resist the invasion. Troops of militia, local and 
from neighboring states, occupied all available positions, and a fort of palmetto-wood 
was erected on Sullivan’s Island and manned by five hundred men under Colonel 
Moultrie. This fort was the chief defense of the city and was relied upon to with- ; 77 ^ 
stand the brunt of the attack, although it was by some considered entirely inadequate 
for the purpose. 

Early in June the British, in upwards of thirty vessels, arrived at the entrance to 
the harbor, but with characteristic delay, it was four weeks before they were ready to 
attack. Clinton’s forces were rendered ineffective by being stupidly disembarked on a 
sand-bar from which they expected to cross to Sullivan’s Island, but to which there was 
no practicable ford. Parker opened fire on Fort Sullivan with six ships, and after 
an engagement lasting all day, was obliged to withdraw what remained of his fleet 
and give up the attempt. It was a most notable victory for American courage and 
perseverance under almost overwhelming odds, and it raised Colonel Moultrie to 
a place among the greatest heroes of the war. An incident of this battle was the 
heroism of Sergeant Jasper in replanting on the bastion the colors which had been 
shot away. 

As the evacuation of Boston had practically ended the war in New England, so 
the defeat at Charleston freed the South from further molestation for some years, and 
removed the centre of strife to the Middle States, where less determined resistance 
was to be feared. Washington, realizing that the British would turn to New York as 
their logical base of operations, removed his army to that place soon after the taking 
of Boston, and made preparations to defend the city as well as his inadequate and 
poorly equipped army might be able to. Congress, which had mainly directed its 
efforts to additional attempts to secure peaceful recognition from King George, had 
utterly failed, through inability or inattention, to provide for the increase or sustenance 
of the army, and was at any time liable to disruption from the growing differences of 
delegates as to the policy to be pursued. There was, as yet, no union, and therefore 
no responsible government which could organize internal affairs and collect funds. 

This condition, coupled with the vanishing of hope of any concession from the King, 
who had declared the colonists rebels and announced his determination to crush them, 
emphasized the need of a basis for a permanent government; and after some hesitation 

on the part of representatives of a few states, * 77 & 
it was voted, on the second of July, 1776, to 
announce to the world the principles for which 
the American people were contending. A com¬ 
mittee, of which Thomas Jefferson, a delegate 
from Virginia, recently arrived, was chosen 
chairman, was appointed to formulate the declara¬ 
tion, the writing of which was entrusted to Jef¬ 
ferson. The result of his labor and the delib¬ 
erations of the committee, was the Declaration of 
Independence, laid before Congress on the fourth 
of July and unanimously accepted. 



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1776 



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This forceful and inspiring document attracted the 
attention of the civilized world, and made possible the 
union subsequently effected. It has maintained, and will 
ever hold, its position as the most revered and precious 
relic of American history ; and it is one of the evidences 
of the quality of mind and character which the early 
patriots brought to the cause of liberty. 

From Philadelphia, where the people awaited breath¬ 
lessly the peal of the State House bell, which should 
“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land, to all the 
inhabitants thereof”; through New York, where the 
message was read to the troops drawn up on the Common, 
and was boisterously celebrated by the populace, which 
demonstrated its patriotism by tearing from the pedestal 
on Bowling Green an equestrian statue of George III, of 
gilded lead, that from glorifying the King was turned 
against him in the form of rebel bullets; to Boston, 
where, in some ways it meant more than it elsewhere 
could — the acceptance by the united colonies of the 
cause nurtured on Boston’s wrongs — the country hailed 
with enthusiasm this brilliant crystalization by its ablest 
representatives, in solemn congress assembled, of the sen¬ 
timents which for months had fired individuals every¬ 
where, but had lacked the official approval of the leaders. 
A large measure of this unanimity was due to the wide¬ 
spread appreciation of Paine’s “ Common-Sense,” pub¬ 
lished the previous winter, in which Thomas Paine, an 
Englishman who had been in this country but a short 
time, grasped and set forth in convincing style, the prin¬ 
ciples involved in the struggle with the mother country, 
and the reasons why rebellion was just and right. Paine 
showed the people what they sought and needed ; Congress declared it an accom¬ 
plished fact and bestirred in its defense. 

Meanwhile the cause in the field was experiencing misfortunes and disasters cal¬ 
culated to weaken its popularity, and was only saved from extermination by Wash¬ 
ington’s ability to successively extricate his army from seemingly overwhelming 
situations. He had established himself in New York and Brooklyn with the ten 
thousand troops that represented all that was available 
— many of that number for but a short period only — of 
the army brought from Boston, and endeavored to hold 
in check the large and powerful armies under Howe and 
Clinton, the latter having reached there from his defeat 
at Charleston, supported by powerful ships of war. 

His detachments on Long Island under Sullivan and Stir¬ 
ling were badly routed, and the situation there was 
strongly against him, when Washington brought over 



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Declaration of 
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reinforcements and en¬ 
gaged in preparing for¬ 
tifications, as though 
intending a continu¬ 
ance of operations ; but 
the next morning, Au¬ 
gust twenty-ninth, 
found the place utterly 
deserted, his army hav¬ 
ing been ferried across 
to New York under 
cover of the night and 
a beneficentfog. Colo¬ 
nel Glover’s Marblehead fishermen accomplished this feat for Washington, and the 
British, who surrounded the Americans and expected an easy and decisive victory, 
were doomed to disappointment. They, however, knew their strength and Wash¬ 
ington’s weakness, and assailed him on all sides of the stand taken in New York, 
driving him in a few days to Harlem Heights. Washington’s personal bravery as 
he rode among his panic-stricken men was the slender thread by which he was 
enabled to finally withdraw his troops. 

It was especially desirable at this time that some knowledge be obtained of the 
intended movements of the British, and Washington accepted the services of Captain 
Nathan Hale of Connecticut, who volunteered to visit the enemy’s camp as a spy. 

He penetrated the British lines and obtained the information without discovery, but 
on his way back was recognized and arrested by a Tory relative. He was taken 
before Howe and sentenced to death, and was executed September twenty-second. 

Every benefit of humanity and religion was denied him, yet he met his death with 
high courage, and his last words, “I only regret that I have but one life to give 
for my country,” have become immortal. 

In the face of his retreat, Washington sent detachments to check the advance of 
the enemy’s outposts, and after sharp fighting drove them back to the main lines. 

The American position was here fairly strong, but not strong enough to warrant 
Washington in risking his army; so on the further advance of the British, he seized 
favorable points and held them in check until he could again retreat, this time to 
White Plains, on the bank of the Bronx River. 

Once more the British under Howe thought to crush the American forces and 
end the war, and once more, after a sharp engagement, the Americans succeeded in 

escaping and establishing themselves in a stronger 
position at North Castle. Forts Washington and 
Lee, which defended the Hudson River at Harlem, 
were left garrisoned with the expectation of their 
being able to hold the position; but the British 
having obtained, through the treachery of a deserter 
from Fort Washington, complete information as to 
the strength and arrangement of that fortification, 
it was successfully assaulted on November sixteenth, 

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and two thousand men taken pris¬ 
oners. This loss, with General 
Lee’s disobedience in withholding, 
on the other side of the Hudson, 
the large body of troops under his 
command, left Washington in a 
desperate situation. His army was 
reduced through these causes, and 
the expiration of the terms of enlist¬ 
ment of many of the militia, to the 
neighborhood of three thousand 
men, and continual discharges and 
desertions, with the failure of efforts 
to secure re-enlistments or fresh re¬ 
cruits, threatened to leave but a 
fraction of that number. Fortu¬ 
nately at this time General Lee’s 
troops were brought in by General 
Sullivan, the former having been 
taken prisoner while at a distance 
from his army. 

The British, holding all the 
important points captured, contin¬ 
ued their advance to Trenton and 
occupied that place preparatory to 
marching on Philadelphia, but later 
abandoned that part of the plan. 
The fear of this disaster was intense 
in Philadelphia, and Congress con¬ 
sidered it necessary to adjourn to Baltimore, after vesting the entire control of the 
war in Washington; a compliment which would have been more appreciated had it 
brought greater opportunities instead of adding to the perplexities of that general. 
He watched the enemy from a safe distance while exerting himself strenuously to 
strengthen his army, though with little success. The misfortunes which made the 
necessity most urgent operated against his efforts, and no enthusiasm could be aroused 
for an apparently failing cause. Little as the prospect offered, he realized that some¬ 
thing must be done, and done quickly, or the new year would find him almost with¬ 
out men. 

Bold as the plan seemed when the possibilities were considered, Washington 
made up his mind to attack Trenton, and despatched several detachments to diverse 
points to ensure the surrounding of the enemy. Christmas night was the time settled 
upon for the assault, and Washington, with twenty-four hundred men, arrived at the 
bank of the Delaware in a fierce storm of snow and sleet, to find the river swollen 
and filled with swiftly-moving ice. To a lesser man the difficulties would have been 
insuperable, as they appeared to his aides, to whom the duty was intrusted of attacking 
from other points, and who failed to cross. To Washington it meant but the call 


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1776 


for greater effort, and, 
encouraged by his ex¬ 
ample and guided by the 
hardy fishermen of Mar¬ 
blehead, the troops were 
safely, though with great 
difficulty, transported to 
the Trenton side, where 
they set out upon an ex¬ 
hausting march to the 
town, regardless of the 
storm and the pains of 
travel on the frozen 
ground. Colonel Rahl 
had been warned that Washington was planning an attack, but, as usual, affected to 
despise his opponent, and the twelve hundred Hessians were in the midst of a 
characteristic Christmas celebration from which all thought of the enemy was 
banished, when the foot-sore and wearied Americans burst upon them. Rahl’s men, 
thoroughly panic-stricken, offered little or no resistance, and in attempting to rally 
them their commander was shot down. A few were killed and some escaped, but 
about one thousand, with all their artillery and stores, were made prisoners and taken 
in triumph to Philadelphia. 

Washington lost no time, after this inspiring victory, in following up the advantage 
gained, and returning with fresh troops, re-occupied Trenton. Howe felt heavily the 
loss of prestige and men resulting from the defeat of Christmas night, and once more 
determined to overwhelm the meagre army of Washington and terminate the harassing 
rebellion. To this end Lord Cornwallis, with seven thousand men, set out from 
Princeton, January second. They were met on the road by detachments of Americans * 77 , 
sent out to retard their movement, and slowly driving the skirmishers before them, 
made their way to Trenton. 

The main body of the American army was entrenched just outside the town, on 
the further bank of the Assanpink, and here the British prepared to attack. An at¬ 
tempt to cross the bridge was repulsed, and Cornwallis contented himself for that day 
with cannonading the enemy from the opposite shore, and planning to assault them on 
the following morning when reinforced. The British habit of delay at critical junc¬ 
tures had before given Washington opportunity to extricate his army from dangerous 
situations, and he took advantage of it on this occasion to abandon his position on the 
Assanpink and march on Princeton — where Cornwallis had left three regiments of his 
army — from whence he hoped to pass to Brunswick and capture the large quantity of 
British stores known to be there. With his usual adroitness, Washing¬ 
ton withdrew undetected by the army on the opposite bank, which 
regarded the brightly burning camp-fires, kindled for the purpose, as 
undoubted evidence of the continued presence of the Americans. 
Princeton was reached early on the morning of January third, and 

the British troops were encountered 
just as they were leaving to join 



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m j 


Trenton 















Cornwallis. A battle en¬ 
sued, which, though at 
times apparently in favor 
of the British—owing to 
the inability of the Ameri¬ 
cans, through lack of 
equipment, to meet bay¬ 
onet charges—resulted 
finally in a splendid vic¬ 
tory for Washington, 
whose personal valor and 
encouragement strength¬ 
ened his men and turned 
the balance to his side. 
The British lied to Bruns¬ 
wick, but the day was so 
far spent that Washington 
deemed it unwise to at- 

©IS Jtttll X C U) J) Of t It. K. destroying the bridges be- 

tween his army and that 

of Cornwallis, withdrew to Somerset Court House, and thence to Morristown, 
where he went into winter quarters. Cornwallis, discomfited at his failure at Tren¬ 
ton and the defeat of his troops at Princeton, returned to Brunswick to protect his 
magazines, and suspended operations for the winter. 

The effect of these victories on the country and the outside world was to raise the 
American cause from the lowest ebb of discouragement to enthusiastic support at home 
and increased respect abroad. France, though yet unwilling to openly favor this coun¬ 
try, was secretly sending supplies, and from that country and Germany and Prussia 
came able and devoted officers to assist our cause. Recruiting became easier and re- 
J 777 enlistments frequent, enabling Washington to greatly strengthen his army and prepare 
for a renewal of the struggle with the coming of spring. 

Events moved slowly at this time, a condition to which the American cause in the 
field was frequently indebted, and yet the forces at work were making for results soon 
to place the struggle for independence on a basis of international recognition and 
eventual support. After declaring independence. Congress had dispatched emissaries to 
the courts of Europe, and especially to France, where the sympathy of progressive 
leaders established the cause in substantial favor. Many of the ablest members were 
thus employed, or were called to their homes to direct the sustaining operations of the 
war, so that the representation left was appreciably inferior as 
a whole, and of little real assistance as an executive body. It 
was inadequate to the task of supporting the army or of adding 
materially to its numbers, and its financial system, lacking 
bassi and credit, was a failure from the start. To the army 
it commissioned officers in many cases incompetent; and 
through a misunderstanding of facts, or unduly influenced by 

Rhode Island 




Princeton 



























interested parties, it superseded competent generals at critical times and placed inferior 
men in command. Lacking official support, the Revolution was sustained by 
popular contribution through the state leaders, the work of Robert Morris, of Phila¬ 
delphia, being especially memorable, and of inestimable service to Washington in 
his efforts to hold together and strengthen his army. 

Connecticut bore a generous share in equipping and sustaining the troops, and at 
this time suffered locally from the proximity of the British quartered at New York. 

On April twenty-sixth, 1777, Governor Tryon of New York, with two thousand 
British and Tories, attacked and burned Danbury, and destroyed a large quantity of 
American stores. On the following day the militia, under Generals Wooster, Arnold, 7777 
and Silliman, forced Tryon to the coast after an engagement at Ridgefield, and the 
British embarked under heavy fire. General Wooster, a veteran of seventy years, 
was mortally wounded. A month later the Americans under Colonel Meigs retal¬ 
iated by crossing from Connecticut to Sag Harbor, on Long Island, where they 
burned twelve British vessels and destroyed stores, bringing back ninety prisoners with¬ 
out the loss of a man. 

Another incident illustrative of the daring and adroitness of the American soldiers 
was the capture of General Prescott, commander of the British forces in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Rhode Island, whose tyranny had excited the indignation of the people. On 
the night of July tenth. Lieutenant Barton of Providence, with forty men, stealthily 
approached Prescott’s headquarters by water, and, overpowering the sentinel, 
secured Prescott, who was in bed, and escaped before the alarm spread to the troops. 


















18 


'777 



(ieorjeumi 




^lux9«tot\gr.f. 
§9 an. ^tccnburo; ^ousc 


1776 


'777 


Congress recog¬ 
nized this act by 
promoting Barton 
to the rank of colo¬ 
nel and presenting 
him a sword. 

Spring brought 
a renewal of activ¬ 
ity in the armies 
facing each other in 
the South, and in 
the North it saw 
the development of 
a plan to effect the 
separation of New 
England from the 
other states. This 
had long been rec¬ 
ognized as an im¬ 
pending possibility, and the division of the North under General Schuyler, though 
weak in numbers, was so placed as to offer the utmost resistance to the anticipated move¬ 
ment. Lake Champlain, the natural path of such invasion, had, the previous sum¬ 
mer, been the scene of a strenuous, if not mighty, struggle with the same object, when 
Benedict Arnold had, by dint of extraordinary effort, created a flotilla, effectively armed 
and manned, with which he vigorously contested Sir Guy Carleton’s ascent of the 
lake; and, while ultimately forced to retreat, so delayed and crippled the enemy that 
the British expedition was fruitless for that season, so far as the main object was con¬ 
cerned. The ground thus gained was held, and served Sir John Burgoyne, the suc¬ 
cessor of Carleton, to launch with great pomp in June, 1777, an army of eight 
thousand men, including Indians— now for the first time employed — which main¬ 
tained its triumphant progress only so long as the waters of the lake formed the line 
of passage. They erected fortifications on Mt. Defiance, near Ticonderoga, from 
which commanding position they were able to throw a destructive fire into the fort; 
and General St. Clair, who occupied the post with somewhat less than three thou¬ 
sand ill-armed troops, abandoned it on the night of July fifth, and undertook to join 
Schuyler at Fort Edward. The British started after him and several times engaged 
his rear guard, but at the end of a week the Americans succeeded in reaching 
Schuyler, though with the loss of some men and a considerable amount of baggage, 
captured by the British at Skenesboro. At this point the struggle with natural con¬ 
ditions began, which offered, difficult as it was, the only means by which Burgoyne 
could pass to Albany, where he hoped to meet forces under Howe, which were to 
come up the Hudson and thus dominate the line from Canada to Long Island. 
Schuyler, realizing the overwhelming force of the invading army, fell back in slow 
retreat, destroying the only road as he passed, burning bridges and clogging streams, 
'besides devastating the country of everything that could be utilized to sustain an army. 
Under these circumstances Burgoyne’s progress, with all the facilities of a thoroughly 
equipped army, was only about one mile a day, and the Americans were enabled to 


i$\tVQ0$ut f 8 15vi>*&ttiou 


























(Georgian 



19 


keep well out of reach until reinforcements and a favorable situation should enable 
them to make a stand. 

A strong detachment of the invaders, under St. Leger, had been sent to the west¬ 
ward to take Fort Stanwix, held by General Ganesvoort. They met with determined 
resistance, and vigorous fighting took place at the fort, and at Oriskaney, where 7777 
General Herkimer, who had come to the relief of Ganesvoort with a large following 
of frontiersmen, fell into an ambush of the enemy. The brave general was mortally 
wounded early in the engagement, but with great fortitude continued to direct the 
battle and succeeded in routing the British, who, however, continued to maintain the 
siege. After some weeks ineffectually spent, they were frightened into a precipitate 
retreat by news of the approach of Arnold with reinforcements, and made their way 
to Canada, minus everything that tended to impede flight. 

Burgoyne, experiencing to the full the difficulties imposed by Schuyler, felt the 
need of provisions, and detached a party of six hundred, under Colonel Baum, to raid 
the country in what is now Vermont, and capture stores held at Bennington. This 
party was met near Bennington by the farmers, who had hastily gathered under 
General Stark, and defeated with the loss of their baggage and artillery. Another 
party of equal numbers which had been sent out a few days afterward to reinforce 
the first, came up a few hours later and suffered like defeat. More than half the 
British were taken prisoners, and upwards of two hundred killed, leaving but a third 
to make its way back to the main army. These misfortunes were rapidly bringing 
Burgoyne to a realization of the doubtfulness of final success, which success would 
have appeared still more remote could he have known, as he did later, that Howe’s 
orders had been so delayed that no help could reach him from that quarter in season 
to avail. 

The American victories at Oriskaney and Bennington spread confidence through¬ 
out the country, and troops gathered to the support of the northern army, which 
Congress, with great injustice to Schuyler, now placed under the command of 
General Horatio Gates, a soldier much inferior to the former in ability and attain¬ 
ments. Gates reaped the benefit of all the hard work done by Schuyler, and entered 
upon his command under most favorable conditions. Burgoyne, pressed for supplies 
and threatened in his rear by General Lincoln—who with two thousand troops was 
even then retaking Ticonderoga—was on the downward slope of effectiveness, while 
the American army was constantly receiving reinforcements, — among which were 
Morgan’s Virginia riflemen sent by Washington,—and with Arnold returned from 
Fort Stanwix, was daily gaining strength and courage, and numbered about three 
thousand men to thirty-five hundred of the British. Gates, after a delay of several 7777 

weeks, established himself at Bemis Heights, 
on the west bank of the Hudson, and awaited 
the enemy. They arrived on September nine¬ 
teenth, and on the following day attacked the 
Americans in their full strength. Gates proved 
utterly inefficient, watching the battle from the 
rear without taking part in it, and the conduct 
of the fight devolved upon the regimental com¬ 
manders, among whom Arnold was the dom¬ 
inant figure. The battle continued until dark- 


N e w York 

Bennington 


















20 


1777 



(g£0rj0iau 








©Id Senate fjousc 
gUtic^aton §(. 



1777 


ness, when the Ameri¬ 
cans drew off to their in- 
trenchments, leaving the 
British in possession of 
their ground, but suffer¬ 
ing from a severe repulse, 
their loss being double 
that of the Continentals. 

This was the begin¬ 
ning of the end with Bur¬ 
goyne. On October 
seventh he made another 
attempt to break the 
American lines, taking 
fifteen hundred of his best 
troops; but his columns 
were stubbornly met, and 
finally, with Morgan, Dearborn, and Arnold leading, the Americans routed the 
British and drove them to their intrenched camp, where the fighting was continued 
until stopped by darkness. Arnold was on the field without authority, he having 
been deprived of his command by Gates, but was unable to restrain his ardor, and 
placed himself at the head of his old division, which he inspired to brilliant service; 
he was badly wounded in the later attack. 

The British were now in a desperate situation; beaten and hopeless of reinforce¬ 
ment they sought to retreat through Saratoga, but found themselves surrounded by 
the gathering Americans, and a few days later Burgoyne gave up the attempt and 
opened negotiations for surrender. The document was signed October sixteenth, 
and by it an army of nearly six thousand, with all equipments, was turned over to 
Gates, and the long-cherished plan to control the line from Canada to the mouth of 
the Hudson came finally to naught. Clinton, in pursuance of belated orders, had 
started to Burgoyne’s assistance, but his enthusiasm waned after capturing Forts Mont¬ 
gomery and Clinton, and contenting himself with sending a detachment to raid King¬ 
ston, which was burned October thirteenth, he returned to New York, leaving the 
North, when rid of Burgoyne, in undisputed possession of the Americans. News of 
this triumph was of inestimable help to the American cause in Europe, and created a 
prestige that made possible the French Alliance. 

Washington, though not active in this northern campaign, was none the less a 
factor in its success, as his watchfulness and employment of Howe and his army in 
the Middle South was largely for the purpose of maintaining the separation of the 
British forces, which he knew to be essential to Ameri¬ 
can victory on the Hudson. While Burgoyne was 
embarking, with so much 6clat, his ill-fated expedition, 

Washington, who had removed from his winter 
quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, to Middlebrook, 
was endeavoring to check Howe’s advance without 
hazarding his small army in open battle. Howe, 
tiring of these tactics, returned to New York, where. 


Saratoga 


New 'Jersey 


























21 



Comment to ^udres capture 
‘Sarrtjt omu 


on July twenty-third, he embarked eighteen thousand men with a view of reaching 
Philadelphia by water. Washington discovered his motive and immediately marched 
his troops to that place, hoping to reassure the people before engaging the enemy. 
His army in point of effectiveness numbered about ten thousand, though in actual 
numbers several thousand more, and among his officers was the Marquis de Lafayette, 
a young French nobleman, who, filled with sympathy and enthusiasm for the cause 
of the colonies, had, in spite of the disapproval of his king, reached this country with 
Baron de Kalb, a German veteran, and was by Congress commissioned Major- 
General. Lafayette endeared himself to Washington and to the army, and became, 
next to Washington, one of the most prominent figures in the war. 

Howe, finding the Delaware fortified against him, entered Chesapeake Bay and 
landed his army at Elkton, Maryland, about fifty miles from Philadelphia. From 
this point he marched toward the city, reaching Chad’s Ford, on the Brandywine— 
where the Americans were encamped—September eleventh. The resulting battle 
was disastrous to the patriots, and although well planned and bravely fought, ended 
at night in their retreat to Chester, and later to the neighborhood of Philadelphia. 
Count Pulaski, a Polish volunteer, distinguished himself in this action and was sub¬ 
sequently commissioned Brigadier General by Congress, in recognition of his gal¬ 
lantry. 

Washington, though defeated, still hoped to keep the British from Philadelphia, 
and prepared to engage them again near Goshen, but was prevented by a severe 
storm, and was then forced to withdraw to Reading to protect his stores, which were 
threatened by the enemy. He left General Wayne with fifteen hundred men to 
check the advance on Philadelphia, but the latter was surprised by a midnight attack 
and driven back with considerable loss, leaving the city open to the invaders, who 


H77 


JJIjf tatmpiM.! 















22 



(gje0rj0[i»n 





|ITbertti 


tt 


entered September twenty-sixth. 
Fearing this result. Congress had 
removed, some days before, to Lan¬ 
caster, from which a few days later 
it moved to York, where it remained 
during the British occupancy of the 
capital. 

The danger to Reading having 
passed, Washington resolved on an¬ 
other attack, and with two thousand 
five hundred reinforcements he en¬ 
gaged the British troops stationed at 
Germantown, near Philadelphia; 
but through the failure of militia on 
which he relied, the effort was de¬ 
feated after a severe struggle, in 
which the American loss was heavy. 
Forts MifHin and Mercer, the for¬ 
mer on Mud Island, in the Dela¬ 
ware, and the latter at Red Bank, 
New Jersey, were still held by the 
Americans, who had established 
them to protect Philadelphia from 
naval attack. These the British as¬ 
saulted with the aid of the fleet from Chesapeake Bay, and after a determined 
but hopeless resistance the Americans were forced to evacuate, November eighteenth, 
leaving the harbor unobstructed for the passage of British ships. To close a season 
disastrous in its immediate results, Washington, early in December, went into win¬ 
ter quarters at Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill, and struggled to maintain the organ¬ 
ization of his army under conditions which would have been insurmountable to 
another general, or with an army striving for a lesser end. 

The cause of independence experienced its darkest days in that memorable camp. 
Thousands of men were unable to leave the rude huts they had built for shelter, for 
I 7 r < lack of clothing to cover them; they were reduced to the barest extremity for food, 
and yet their patriotism and faith in their commander triumphed over these miseries 
and sustained them until spring, when a turn of fortune brought once more the neces¬ 
saries of life and comfortable equipment. During the long winter, Washington 
suffered not only the anguish of sympathy for his starving troops, but from the ma¬ 
chinations of envious and disgruntled subordinates, and the criticism of some of the 
leaders in Congress. It was hoped, by a considerable faction, to supersede Wash¬ 
ington by Gates — the latter’s victory over Bur- 
goyne being contrasted with Washington’s cam¬ 
paign about Philadelphia — and sufficient support 
was obtained to secure control of the Board of 
War, which, with Gates at the head, was a 
source of annoyance and affront to Washington, 
while it utterly failed in its duties of providing for 
the army. 

Del aware 

TaUcj} iForgc 
























<g*0r£iim 



23 


While these conditions existed at the seat of war, forces were elsewhere working 
for speedy and permanent improvement. The King of France, overborne by his 
ministers, had signed early in February a treaty of alliance and commerce, acknowl¬ 
edging the independence of the American Colonies. This meant money and ships 
and ready supplies, besides establishing the United States on a recognized footing at 
the capitals of Europe. The victory at Saratoga, which had encouraged France to 
this action, had startled England into a belated concession of privileges, which a peace 
commission was sent over to propose; but the time for such measures was past and 
they were rejected by Congress, which declared that no proposals would be enter¬ 
tained except on a basis of complete independence and the withdrawal of British 
troops. This, of course, was not contemplated, and the commission ingloriously re¬ 
turned. The action of France was regarded by England as a declaration of war, and 
preparations were made for strengthening the situation of the troops in America. 
General Howe, who, it was realized, had done nothing more than seize upon com¬ 
fortable winter quarters for his army, was recalled and superseded by General 
Clinton. Philadelphia being of no military value to the British without a line of 
communication with the main army at New York, it was decided to abandon it ere 
the French fleet could come to the assistance of Washington’s army and force the 
evacuation. In pursuance of these orders Clinton, who had assumed command the 
latter part of May, so hastened preparations that on June eighteenth he left the city 
and started his army across New Jersey. 

Washington, whose patience and endurance the winter had so severely tried, was 
now well equipped, thanks to the efforts of Greene, who in March, as quartermaster- 
general, succeeded the incompetent Board of War ; the spring levies had filled his 
ranks, and best of all, his army, which had been drilled all winter by Baron Steuben 
— a distinguished Prussian officer — was now for the first time in perfect training. 
Under such gratifying conditions it is not strange that Washington wished to inter¬ 
cept Clinton and 
match his strength 
against the British; 
but a council of his 
officers by their dis¬ 
approval so delayed 
him, that, though 
he finally overruled 
their decision, Clin¬ 
ton was then so far 
advanced that to 
overtake him re¬ 
quired extraordin¬ 
ary effort, and 
forced the troops to 
a fatiguing march, 
which at the last 
became so hurried 
that many threw 
away their knap- 


|F o v t ^ x tt 
jiHttstmrg fJa 



1778 


t jFvrnct) flUtauce 





















24 



Cgggrjgian 



1778 


1778 



sacks in their desire to reach the enemy. 
The British were advised of Washing¬ 
ton’s approach, and though numbering 
seventeen thousand, were headed for the 
coast by the most direct route, their 
march fast becoming flight under the 
vexations of climate and the harassing 
attacks of the New Jersey militia. On 
the twenty-sixth of June they encamped 
at Monmouth Court House with Wash¬ 
ington but a few miles behind, and a de¬ 
tachment under Lee, which had been sent 
in advance, within striking distance. The 
latter, Washington ordered to attack as 
soon as the enemy should resume the 
march in the morning, promising sup¬ 
port as soon as he could come up. Lee, 
an Englishman who had been a source 
of trouble to Washington all through the 
war, was impressed with Clinton’s in¬ 
vincibility, and fearing to engage him, 
contented himself with unimportant man- 
ceuvers, until Clinton, seeing his oppor¬ 
tunity, charged, and had started the 
Americans in retreat when Washington, 
whom the incredible news found strain¬ 
ing every'nerve to reach the field of battle, 
galloped on the scene, and overcome with 
rage, demanded of Lee an explanation of 
his course. This Lee was unable to 
g've, and ordering him to the rear, where 
the next day he was court-martialed and 
suspended from his command, Washington rallied the troops, that had failed wholly from 
the lack of efficient ordering, and with the arrival of the main army recovered the 
ground and drove the British in retreat. Under the cover of the night the retreat was 
kept up, and Clinton succeeded in reaching the coast and embarking before the Ameri¬ 
cans could again come up with him. His army was reduced by two thousand, in the 
march and battle, and had it not been for the incompetence of Lee, would have been 
utterly destroyed. As it was, he was beaten, and the campaign which Washington had 
lost at Brandywine and Germantown, was redeemed at Monmouth. An incident of this 
battle was the bravery of Molly Pitcher, the wife of an American artilleryman. 
She was bringing water to her husband when she saw him fall, and heard an order for 
withdrawing his gun; determined that it should not be silenced, she took his place 
and served the gun throughout the fight. In recognition of her patriotism Washington 
appointed her a sergeant in the army, where she became widely known and popular. 

During the summer of 1778 the war made little progress, so far as the main 
armies were concerned. The British were now confined to New York, with an out- 


M 0 u tn 0 tt t i) 









































25 








4 



independence |$aU 
Philadelphia 


post at Newport, Rhode Island, and evinced little inclination for aggressive measures. 
Early in July the French fleet, under Count d’Estaing, appeared off Sandy Hook, but 
owing to their greater draught were unable to approach the British fleet. In lieu of 
this, a plan was arranged for destroying, in conjunction with a land force, the British 
garrison and ships at Newport. D’Estaing arrived therewith his fleet August eighth, 
and his presence with the forces under Sullivan, Greene, and Lafayette caused 
the British to destroy their men-of-war and other vessels in the harbor. While 
preparations for the attack were being made, a British squadron appeared, and the 
French went outside to engage it, but a very severe storm arose and scattered the 
fleets, injuring the vessels so that the British were forced to return to New York, and 
the French went to Boston, to refit. Upon this the land forces, which also suffered 
from the storm, were obliged to withdraw without accomplishing their purpose, 
though a sharp engagement took place between four thousand reinforcements, which 
Clinton had brought from New York, and a division under Green, in which the 
British were repulsed. Clinton occupied himself in ravaging the surrounding country 
and burning shipping at New Bedford, returning to New York soon afterward and 
subsequently abandoning Newport. 

One of the particularly disturbing features of the summer were the Indian 
raids, made at the instigation of British agents and participated in by many Tories. 
Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Valley, New York, suffered frightfully in 
this way, hundreds of men, women, and children falling victims to the tomahawk, 
while in many instances the torture was much more severe. Further west the British 
had seized old French trading posts and garrisoned them with regulars and Indians, to 
ensure the unlimited extension of British territory when the victory should be won. 
They also sought to uproot the settlement in what is now Kentucky, but were 
tenaciously resisted by the hardy pioneers under the lead of Boone, Logan, 

Kenton, and other intrepid woodsmen. 

Among these was one who realized the 
value of the outposts that the British had 
seized, and determined that the vast terri¬ 
tory dominated by them should be held by 
Americans. Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and 
Cahokia, in the Illinois country, were the 



Pe nnsy lvania 


*77 8 


Nctoport 

































<£ ij t to Jianslon etvmantotou }J a . 


coveted settlements, and George Rogers Clark, a native of Virginia, the far-seeing 
frontiersman who set out to take them with less than two hundred men, raised by his 
personal efforts under the authority of Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia. Over¬ 
coming all obstacles, they reached Kaskaskia on the evening of July fourth, and Clark 
by skillful manoeuvers took the garrison completely by surprise, and overpowering the 
guards, compelled the surrender of forces two or three times greater in number than 
/ yyS his own. Vincennes and Cahokia followed with little trouble, but the difficulty was 
to hold the posts with his small following, of which many of the men were anxious 
to return to their homes. At this time the British arrived with a strong force and 
retook Vincennes, but owing to the lateness of the season hesitated about attacking 
Kaskaskia, held by Clark with the main body of his command. Neither the season 
nor the condition of the country had any terrors for Clark, and getting together one 
hundred and seventy men who could be depended upon, they started for Vincennes 
early in February, undertaking fearlessly ajourney of over two hundred miles, in which 
they experienced hardships of every kind, including hunger, and a march through miles 
of icy water, waist high, but, in spite of these, arrived at their destination on the 
twenty-second of the month, and after a short fight forced the fort to again surrender. 

The importance of this exploit was far-reaching, as it not only secured to the 
United States vast territory in the West, but it broke, from that time, the alliance 
with the Indians, which the British had created with difficulty, and upon which they 
largely depended. 

The British, from their only stronghold. New York, kept up their devastating 
raids on the surrounding cour.try, descending early in September on Buzzards Bay, 
where they destroyed shipping and privateers to the number of seventy sail, continu- 
































<!S£0r£iim ©Eggl 27 


ing through New Bedford and Fairhaven the pillage and destruction, and finally re¬ 
turning to New York with a large number of cattle and sheep captured at Martha’s 
Vineyard. On the thirtieth of the same month they sailed to Little Egg Harbor, 
New Jersey, where they captured a considerable quantity of American stores. 

This employment of his army, while perhaps a degree more creditable than ab¬ 
solute inaction, would never win for Clinton the control of America; and having 
tried and failed in successive attempts to hold the Northern and Middle States, the 
British turned again to the South, as offering the only remaining opportunity for lasting 
victory. Driven out of Boston, defeated and destroyed on the Hudson, balked at 
Philadelphia, and menaced at New York, they with some reasonableness hoped, by 
gaining a foothold in a thinly populated country, where loyalism was undoubtedly 
stronger, to extend operations on a permanent basis until they could unite with the 
Northern forces. The South, unmolested since Clinton and Parker’s inglorious at¬ 
tack on Charleston, was unprepared for resistance and was divided by party differ¬ 
ences that under the strain of war developed into serious civil conflict. 

To this promising field, then,Clinton turned his attention, with immediate results 
that seemed to fully justify his deductions, and warranted confidence in the success of 
his ultimate plan. A partially successful raid under General Provost came out of 
Florida and pillaged the coast towns of Georgia, but the first important move was 
against Savannah. On the twenty-ninth of December, Colonel Campbell landed 
with an army of three thousand and attacked the city, which was defended by Gen¬ 
eral Robert Howe with less than a thousand men, and those without experience in 
action. The British were easily victorious, and completely scattered the opposing 
force, taking some five hundred prisoners and capturing valuable stores. Following 
this, Provost returned and captured Sunbury, which had repulsed his first raid, and 
Campbell with a division of his troops advanced successfully on Augusta. Thus 
Georgia, the last to renounce the royal authority, was the first to again feel its yoke, 
the British being now in virtual possession of the State. 

General Benjamin Lincoln was sent by Congress to command the Southern de¬ 
partment, but met with little success. He succeeded in raising a small army, but 
attempting prematurely to recover Augusta and Savannah, his force was seriously re¬ 
duced without the attainment of his object, and he was obliged to retire to the hills 




mm 11 »jii 








annt a v w n a 1 l Co. a v jj l a « » 


Cljt SWav (« tljc SoutJ) 











26 


with but a handful of men, leaving the British in full possession of Georgia. The 
direct results of his campaign were the gallant repulse of the British at Fort Royal by 
General Moultrie, the defeat and dispersal at Kettle Creek of a band of seven hun¬ 
dred Tories under Colonel Boyd, who was shot in the engagement, and the preser- 
777; vation of Charleston, which Provost had set out to attack, but from which he was 
compelled by Lincoln’s advance to withdraw. 

Encouraged by their progress in the South, the British resumed with greater 
boldness their periodic' raids in the North. Under Sir George Collier and General 



<£?0rgtim 




a r « d U Jttanstou JJ fj 1 1 a B r l u 1j f a 


Matthews they entered Hampton Roads, May ninth, ravaging Norfolk and Ports¬ 
mouth, and then sailed for New York, where they assisted Clinton in capturing the 
/773 unfinished fortifications at Stony Point, by which the Americans had hoped to control 
King’s Ferry. An expedition had been sent against West Greenwich, Connecticut, 
the previous March, which is memorable chiefly on account of General Putnam’s 
bold escape from what seemed certain capture. He had rallied a company to oppose 
the British, who were on their way to destroy the salt-works at Horse Neck, but 
was unable to offer effective resistance to the fifteen hundred invaders, and his men 
were soon dispersed. Putnam sought to reach Stamford, but was pursued by the 
British, who were fast gaining on him, when he turned his horse over the edge of a 
steep, rocky bluff and rode safely to the bottom, leaving his astonished pursuers 


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29 


daunted and baffled at the top. An¬ 
other expedition, under Governor 
Tryon, left New York for Connecticut 
early in July, and sailing along the coast 
plundered New Haven, East Haven, 

Fairfield and Norwalk, which latter 
place was also burned. 

These measures were met by the 
Americans with movements against 
Stony Point and Verplank’s Point, and 
later against the British garrison at 
Paulus Hook. These were not wholly 
retaliatory, as Washington feared from 
the capture of Stony Point the exten¬ 
sion of British occupation through a 
series of such posts, which would ac¬ 
complish all that was striven for in Bur- 
goyne’s campaign, and cut off his army 
and the Southern states from the recruits 
and supplies so generously furnished by 
New England. He therefore deter¬ 
mined to retake the fort at once, and 
entrusted the work to General Wayne, 
one of his most intrepid aids. General 
Wayne with a few hundred men reached 
the precipitous slopes in the rear of the 
fort on the evening of July sixteenth, 
and in a dashing assault, upon which the 
heavy fire of the garrison made no im¬ 
pression, they mounted the breast-works and compelled a speedy surrender. Nearly 
five hundred prisoners were taken, and guns and munitions of great value captured. 

After training the guns of the fort on Verplank’s Point, opposite, and compelling 
its evacuation, the Americans leveled the works and returned to the main army. 

Their achievement is looked upon as one of the most brilliant of the war. 

Paulus-Hook, now the site of a part of Jersey City, was one of the strongest 
natural positions held by the British; nearly surrounded by water, it was approach- '779 
able only by the post road, of which it originally formed the terminus and landing 
place of the ferry from New York. Major Harry Lee undertook the capture, and 

surprised it early on the morning of August nine¬ 
teenth. The British had little time for resistance 
before they were overpowered by the attacking 
party, which secured upwards of one hundred 
and fifty prisoners — a number greater than that 
of the Americans — and quickly withdrew, lest 
the alarm spread to the main body of the enemy 
and retreat be cut off. 

Another undertaking, though carefully planned 


M a ry l an d 


tons iJotut 


































30 


<&*0r&wn 


and fitted out at great 
expense, met with dis¬ 
aster and utterly failed. 
This was the expedition 
against the British post 
at Castine, near the 
mouth of the Penobscot 
River, organized in 
Massachusetts, in which 

engaged, and had en¬ 
tered the river, when, 
on August thirteenth, 
they were hemmed in 
by a British fleet of su¬ 
perior force which sud¬ 
denly appeared. The Americans, rather than see their ships fall into the hands of the 
British, beached and burned them, making their way back to Boston overland. 

The American navy, from the poverty of national resources an inconsiderable 
power heretofore, received at this time a memorable accession in the fleet under John 
Paul Jones, fitted out at L’Orient, France, by the American and French govern¬ 
ments. Jones, by birth a Scotchman, had already shown high ability in the service 
of America, and when, after many tedious disappointments, he found himself in 
command of an effective if not powerful fleet, he lost no time in making his presence 
felt among the shipping of Great Britain. He intercepted and captured many 
merchant vessels, in some cases boldly entering harbors to destroy them, and spread 
terror of his name throughout the British Isles. These exploits, while of importance 
in a scheme of warfare, were far from sufficient to the aggressive character of Jones, 
and he eagerly sought an encounter with armed vessels, though the conditions might 
apparently be against him. Such an opportunity came to him off Flamborough Head, 
September twenty-third, when he overtook two British ships of war, the Serapis and 
Countess of Scarborough, convoying a large fleet of merchantmen. Jones com¬ 
manded the Bonhomme Richard, his flagship, and had with him but two other 
/779 vessels of his squadron, the Alliance and Pallas, the others having been lost sight 
of in a gale. The British ships were greatly superior in size and armament, the 
Serapis being the larger, and a much newer and stouter vessel than the Bonhomme 
Richard, with which she engaged. The Countess of Scarborough soon struck to her 
opponents, the Alliance and Pallas, and the three remained in a group apart, leaving 
the two larger vessels to struggle for mastery. The 
battle that ensued is renowned in history as an example 
of the triumph of personal invincibility in the face of 
apparent ruin. 

The Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis fought at 
close range until both were badly battered and pierced, 
and then, grappled together, the guns of each touching 
the other’s side, they continued their fearful work of car¬ 
nage and destruction. On several occasions the Richard 

IV ashington's 

0 Ul 1U 0 tf 0 t C Coat of Ar mi 

3)oi)\x $aul Jours 



thirty-seven vessels were 



v tvott 

























(gsorjotfim 




1 779 


was reported to be 
sinking, but by ex¬ 
traordinary effort 
was kept afloat, 
and at last Pear¬ 
son, the captain 
of the Serapis, 
yielded to his an¬ 
tagonist at a mo¬ 
ment when, as far 
as material evi¬ 
dence was credi¬ 
ble, the victory 
might well have 
been his own. 

The Alliance, 
which should have 
helped the Rich¬ 
ard, remained 

aloof during the greater part of the engagement, and when at last she came up, 
nearly ruined Jones’s chance by firing broadsides which swept the deck of the Richard. 
This action was excused on the ground of mistaken identity, but Landais’ jealousy 
of Jones and his restiveness under the latter’s superior authority, give color to a pre¬ 
sumption of traitorous intent, and he was soon afterwards dismissed from the navy. 
The prizes were taken to Holland, and Jones, after a short stay in Paris, where his 
achievement was enthusiastically honored, returned to America, and received the 
thanks of Congress for his eminent services. 

While Jones was receiving his vessels from France, the French fleet under D’Es- 
taing, which had been cruising in West Indian waters, suddenly returned to the 
coast and captured four British men-of-war at Savannah. The French commander 
resolved to follow up this victory by recovering the town, and sought the help of the 
militia in the undertaking. Several weeks elapsed before the South Carolinians with 
Lincoln, who came to their aid, could complete an effective organization, and in this 
time the British had received reinforcements and erected formidable defences. D’Es- 
taing, chafing under the delay, demanded an immediate attack, and on October ninth, 
the allies gallantly assaulted the works and succeeded in planting the flags of America 
and France on the ramparts, but they could not maintain their position, and finally 
were repulsed with great loss. The brave Pulaski was killed in this action, as was 
Sergeant Jasper, the hero of Fort Moultrie ; and Count d’Estaing, who led his troops 
in person, was severely wounded. The French fleet put to sea, and Lincoln, with 
about two thousand men, withdrew to Charleston, where the people, desirous of pro¬ 
tection, urged them to remain. 

The British, encouraged by their victory, appeared off the coast of Georgia early 
in 1780 with a fleet under Admiral Arbuthnot, bringing Clinton and eight thousand '7 
men, who were placed in commanding positions about Charleston, where they were 
joined by Cornwallis with troops to the number of three thousand. General 
Lincoln, who had remained in the city, had been reinforced by a considerable body 


SaUanuaf) 

















32 



(&£<nrj&*an 




law 


fool ?il 0 M S t 
JWownt Ttr#on 


of Virginia veterans, but his forces could 
offer no effective resistance to an army 
numbering four to his one. Aided by 
% the fleet, which ran Fort Moultrie 

without difficulty, the British instituted 
an aggressive siege which resulted in the 
capitulation of the city on May twelfth ; 
General Lincoln and all his men were 
taken prisoners. 

With the loss of the last remnant of 
Lincoln’s army, organized defense was 
obliterated in the South. The British 
spread over and devastated South Caro¬ 
lina as they did before in Georgia, 
plundering all not avowedly loyal, and 
committing outrages calculated to embit¬ 
ter the patriots and strengthen them in 
their later resistance. 

A detachment of two thousand men 
under DeKalb had been sent South to 
augment the forces there, and this was 
now utilized as a nucleus of a new armv. 

J 

As many more were soon added by 
enlistment and the accession of isolated 
bands, and Gates, in whom Congress had great confidence, based on a misconception 
of his part in the capture of Burgoyne, was sent, against the judgment of Washington, 
to take command. Under conservative leadership this army would have grown and 
developed into an effective force, but without waiting for these processes, and appar¬ 
ently without consideration of its weakness. Gates led it to Camden, then an import¬ 
ant center for the British. The despair resulting from the loss of Savannah and 
Charleston had been broken by minor though brilliant successes at Fishing Creek and 
Hanging Rock, and the patriots rallying under Marion, Sumter, and Pickens were 
harassing the British with a partisan warfare destructive of their sense of security, 
I ~^° though lacking in effective organization. These leaders joined forces with Gates ; 
but they added nothing to the strength of the attack on Camden, as both Marion 
and Sumter were detached for special operations, the latter taking four hundred of 
the best troops in addition to his own. 

The British under Lord Rawdon, knowing of Gates’ advance, set out to intercept 
and surprise him, and on August sixteenth, the armies came suddenly together, neither 
being aware of the proximity of the other. A battle 
was immediately ordered, and a line of militia, never 
before under fire, was marched in the first charge 
against the perfectly drilled regulars of the British. 

The natural result was, that the Americans, frightened 
by the solid fire of the enemy, broke and fled, leaving 
to DeKalb and his Continentals the whole burden of 
resistance. The latter fought with remarkable cour- 



4£tntVi il (katta 
tn tfje 


Virginia 






















age, but they were hope¬ 
lessly outnumbered, and, 
after losing eight hundred 
men, including DeKalb, 
were obliged to retreat 
and save themselves as 
best they could. Sum¬ 
ter’s detachment, which 
had captured the British 
wagon train, was over¬ 
taken by Tarleton and 
routed with the loss of half 
its men, killed or captured. 

The re-formed southern 
army, barely started in its 
mission, was thus effec¬ 
tually scattered, and once 
more the British were free 
to extend their lines and 
prosecute their plan of 
northward conquest. 

This immunity was of short duration, however, the rigorous measures adopted by 
Cornwallis quickly bearing fruit in an uprising fatal to British supremacy. Wishing 
to free himself from the annoyance of local attacks, Cornwallis sent a division under 
Colonel Ferguson to range the western borders of the Carolinas and intimidate the 
inhabitants. The threats of the invaders roused the mountaineers, who had hitherto 
contented themselves with repressing Indian aggression, and garnering under favorite 
leaders, they assembled on the Watuga, late in September, to the number of nearly 
twelve hundred. They chose Colonel Campbell — leader of the Virginians — chief 
commander, and under his direction were more closely united and instructed in 
methods of attack. They were later joined by upwards of three hundred from North 
Carolina, and started to crush the detachment under Ferguson. The British com¬ 
mander had word of their coming, and undertook to elude them ; but being unsuc¬ 
cessful in this, took up a strong position on Kings’ Mountain and awaited the con¬ 
flict. To shorten the pursuit the backwoodsmen had divided their force, the pick of 
men and horses to the number of seven hundred entering on a forced march, leaving 
the rest to come up as they could. Riding night and day in their impatience to at¬ 
tain their object, the Americans arr’ved in the vicinity of the British camp on the / 7 ^° 
morning of October seventh, and immediately arranged the attack. The British had 
more men, and a strong position on the top of a wooded hill ; but every man in the 
attacking force was a trained Indian fighter and thoroughly at home in such a situ¬ 
ation. They charged from opposite sides of the hill, and a repulse on one side was 
immediately followed by an assault on the other, thus keeping the British in constant 
motion, and gradually reducing the intervening space, until arriving at the top they 
surrounded and overpowered the enemy, forcing uncondidonal surrender. Ferguson 
and fully one-third of his men were killed, and the victors secured a large store of 
arms and ammunition, the lack of which was everywhere a serious hindrance to the 
struggling patriots. 



Hr S 11 tv ante 

o u n t Tmion 


IHug's ^Mountain 





















©lagett'B £atiern SUcvantivla Ta. 


The tide of war thus ebbing and flowing, rose perceptibly for the Americans from 
this time, the people, encouraged by the destruction of the merciless foe that dom¬ 
inated the frontier, rising in scattered bands to pick off isolated British posts and even 
driving the main army to seek security nearer the sea-coast. Marion and Sumter ap¬ 
peared in unexpected quarters, cutting off supplies and routing loyalist militia, leading 
Tarleton hither and thither in futile attempts to reach them. He finally came up 
with Sumter at Blackstocks and was severely repulsed. The British, once more on 
/ 7 ^° the defensive, were checked in their northward march, and all that was needed to 
permanently cripple them was an organized army to which the roving bands could 
rally. This Congress undertook, for the third time, to supply ; but depleted ranks 
and bankrupt finances were conditions not lightly subjected, and Greene, whom 
Washington was privileged to appoint to this command, could obtain but little in 
material equipment, either of men or outfittings, and was obliged to depend on ap¬ 
peals to the Southern States, backed by recommendations of the central government. 
In some aspects Greene’s expedition was in the nature of a forlorn hope. Two 
armies had been sacrificed in the same cause, exhausting the resources of the northern 
division, which could now spare but a mere body-guard to the departing general. 
Disaffection was rife in the Continental army on account of the worthlessness of the 
currency with which it was paid, and enlistments were correspondingly difficult to 
obtain. In the face of this discouraging outlook Greene went resolutely to his task, 
rousing the country as he traveled through it and importuning the governors for aid 
of any kind. His energetic measures brought him some immediate assistance, and 
more followed as he journeyed South, leaving a train of activity where apathy had 


Central Greene floes Soutfj 












































































































(Sfcflrjgi&tt 



35 


before prevailed. He reached Charlotte, North Carolina, December second, and 
relieved Gates, who had since his defeat at Camden gathered the available militia of 
the state to the number of two thousand, to replace his lost army. These troops 
were raw and undisciplined, but with Steuben and Lee, whom Congress had assign¬ 
ed to the Southern department, Greene set about the work of fitting them for service, 
while they also formed a nucleus for gathering recruits. 

In appointing Greene to the command of the Southern division, Washington had 
deprived his army of a strong general, but he was content in the knowledge of the 
special fitness of Greene for the duty to which he was assigned. His notable service 
as quartermaster-general after the failure of the Board of War, and his eminent abil¬ 
ity in the field, were considerations that impelled Washington to urge his appoint¬ 
ment to this post after the destruction of Lincoln’s army at Charleston; but Congress, 
enamoured of Gates, chose the latter. In the interval since that time the contrast of 


ability in the two men had become 
apparent even to Congress. While 
Gates hurried to destruction in the 
South, Greene gained fresh honors in 
New Jersey, where he checked Clin¬ 
ton’s advance at Springfield and sent 
him in retreat to Staten Island. 

Incursions of this character were 
the extent of British activity in the 
North during the spring and summer 
of 1780. Washington had moved 
into New Jersey and driven out Knyp- 
hausen, whose force was greatly su¬ 
perior, before Clinton arrived from 
Charleston ; and while the latter was 
engaged in his abortive raid, the Ameri¬ 
can commander defended his position 
on the Hudson. His army, impover¬ 
ished and reduced in numbers through 
the incapacity of Congress, was re¬ 
inforced by the arrival at Newport, 
Rhode Island, July tenth, of a power¬ 
ful French fleet under Admiral Ternay, 
bringing Count de Rochambeau with 
six thousand soldiers. The strength 
of the allied forces was thus sufficient 
to imperil the British at New York, 
and their outlying posts were finally 
abandoned for the better protection of 
the larger interests. 

At the British headquarters, and 
in the heart of the American councils, 
events were making for one of the 
saddest burdens that Washington, in 


aUr#«9rls T a. 



1780 


1780 


avrtlial of jFrnut) Clifts 
































36 



< &t0r&wn 



*775 

177b 


1777 


177s 


*779 


all the misfortunes of the Revolution, was called upon to bear. Benedict Arnold, whose 
name is now identified with treachery, was at that time one of the most valiant officers 
in the patriot army. Impetuous and ardent, he was ever at the forefront of action, and 
his self-ignoring courage inspired those about him to victorious effort in the face of 
impending disaster. He had led a starving army through the northern wilderness to 
Quebec, his energetic struggle for the control of Lake Champlain had delayed by a 
year the British advance to the Hudson and operated for its final defeat, and his re¬ 
surgent valor at Saratoga turned the tide of battle in favor of his cause. The elements 
of character that contributed to these worthy ends were equally potent in self-seeking 
baseness, when the high impulse of patriotism had given place to one of personal gain 
and revenge. The wound received by Arnold in the charge at Saratoga incapacitated 
him, temporarily, for active service, and when sufficiently recovered he was put in 
. command of Philadelphia, which the British had then recently evacuated. Here he 
married the daughter of a Tory, and formed associations that opened the way for 
later operations. Life at the capital developed the weaknesses of his nature, and he 
became involved in difficulties that brought him successively before a committee of 
Congress and a court-martial ; the former exonerated him, but the latter, though 
acquitting him of the charges preferred, qualified the verdict by directing Washington 
to administer a formal reprimand. The harshness of this measure was greatly miti- 


,§liJa0t)an£tottui ^ea&quarterc 
-Richmond Ba. t= 




JWaforsCSnural jjtnrijtct sunoiu 





































































































gated by the implied praise which 
Washington, who admired Arnold 
and believed him wronged, incor¬ 
porated in the rebuke; but to 
Arnold it was no less a rebuke, 
and it weighed in turning him from 
a life of honor to one of ignominy. 

Smarting under his wrong, real 
or fancied, and looking to the possi¬ 
bilities of personal emolument, he 
opened cautious communication 
with the British, who saw in this 
an opportunity of acquiring by 
treachery what they could not take 
by force of arms. The American 
fort at West Point, on the Hudson, 
was coveted, and Arnold set out to 
obtain the post of commandant that 
he might work its ruin, for which 
he was to receive a large money 
consideration and a commission as ' t '’ > 
brigadier-general in the British 
army. Though Washington had . 
other plans for Arnold’s employ¬ 
ment, such was his regard for the 
that he deferred to the lat- 



" *1 t'.V. ’f'l I ! I ii| JllljpUMi'l 1 


J>cf)ookJ)ou£C of ttanDolpl)£ anti 
^cffcrtfontf Cucftaljoc t)a* 


man. 


37 


1780 


ter’s wishes, and the first requirement of the plot was effected. From possession it 
was but a step to delivery; but that step was carelessly executed by Major Andr6, 
the British emissary sent to meet Arnold and arrange the details, and while on his 
way back to the Vulture, a sloop-of-war which had brought him up the river, he 
was captured at Tarry town and the full import of his mission discovered. John 
Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart, the vigilant rangers who seized 
Andrd, took him, in spite of liberal offers for liberty, to the American headquarters 
at Northcastle; and a few days later he was hanged at Tappan, after having confessed 
to being a spy, and notwithstanding strenuous efforts on the part of Clinton to save 
his officer’s life. Through a blunder of the officers to whom Andr6 was delivered, 
Arnold was notified of the failure of his conspiracy and succeeded in escaping to 
the British on the day, September twenty-fifth, that the surrender was to have 
taken place. 

To Washington, who arrived unexpectedly at West Point on the morning of 
Arnold’s flight, the moral disappointment was particularly severe. Arnold was a 
valuable officer, but the gap which he left could, in a way, be filled. The real 
calamity was the shaken confidence in human integrity engendered by the perfidy of 
one so highly esteemed, and who owed so much to the kindly consideration of his 
superior. It opened unconsidered possibilities of defeat, and such was the improba¬ 
bility in Arnold’s case that no limit could be set to unwelcome suspicion. Happily 
no further cause for such existed, and the treason of Arnold remains the one blot on 
the record of patriotism. 


1780 


arnolti’s 2frtact>cr» 


















































Wi c s t o to r r Saints IX i i) t v Ta, 


In the North the year 1780 closed as it had passed, without important aggression 
by either side. To Washington, in his quarters in New Jersey, the outlook was 
cheerless in the extreme. All the old familiar besetments of failing men and scant 
supplies harassed him with stubborn persistence. As an executive body Congress 
was a failure, and Washington’s strenuous entreaties were received with indifference 
and apathy. The lack of funds was the most serious difficulty, and after its own 
conspicuous failure in this field. Congress, with unusual discernment, shifted the 
burden to an individual of large means and earnest patriotism, by appointing Robert 
Morris, of Philadelphia, to be Superintendent of Finances. In the early days of the 
war, Morris had answered Washington’s appeal with fifty thousand dollars raised on 
his personal credit, and, though the task was one that-few men would have cared to 
undertake and fewer still have succeeded in, he now applied his ripe business ability 
to the problem, and with the cooperation of Gouverneur Morris, of New York, 
established a bank and raised the credit of the government on the strength of his own 
acceptance of the trust. The money thus available was of immense assistance to 
Washington, enabling him to recoup his army at a most critical time, when, as later 
developments proved, unreadiness would have been fatal. 

Benedict Arnold, with his commission from King George, had been sent to ravage 
1781 Virginia, and with Cornwallis and Tarleton in the Carolinas, the importance of the 
British strength in the South was clearly apparent to the American commander. He 
dispatched Lafayette with twelve hundred men to meet Arnold, who was burning and 


Bototrt JHorrfs 
















pillaging with the energy that had been characteristic of his worthy efforts. Early 
in March, Lafayette reached Annapolis, at which place he was to join the French 
fleet which had been sent from Newport to convoy him to Portsmouth, where 
Arnold was entrenched. The plan was frustrated by the appearance of a British 
fleet under Arbuthnot near the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, and as a result of the 
ensuing action the French were obliged to return to Rhode Island, leaving Lafayette 1781 
without the means of reaching Arnold. Clinton, though yet with no plan beyond 
disconnected raids, sent General Phillips with two thousand men to join Arnold, 
whom the former was to relieve of command. His mission thus rendered hopeless, 
Lafayette was ordered to join Greene, who was beginning to make his presence felt 
in the farther South. 

One of the typical figures of the war was Daniel Morgan of Virginia. Born to 
humble station, he served as private in the early Indian wars, and at the outbreak of 
the Revolution raised a regiment of Virginia riflemen and hurried to the front. 

H is men formed an important part of the expedition to Quebec and were prominent 
in many later actions, notably at Saratoga, where they won the praise of the enemy. 
Morgan had not received the recognition his achievements merited and had with¬ 
drawn to his Virginia plantation, when Gates’s defeat at Camden revealed the desper¬ 
ate situation of the cause in the South. Repressing personal considerations, he made 
haste to join Gates, and soon received from Congress a commission as brigadier-general. 

He was engaged in organizing his troops when Greene arrived, and with the approval 
of the latter he moved to the westward, and gathering the militia, stopped the ravages 
of loyalists in that section. Cornwallis 
watched with apprehension Morgan’s 
growing power, and sent Tarleton, with 
his light infantry, to check his operations. 

Morgan retreated before him until he 
reached a favorable position at Cowpens 
— on the boundary between North and 
South Carolina — where he established 
himself, and instructing and encouraging 
his men, he waited in battle order for the 
British to come up. They arrived on 
the seventeenth of January and dashed 
upon the Americans with an impetuosity 
calculated to break the ranks of the lat¬ 
ter; but they were prepared for this and 
met the assault boldly, changing forma¬ 
tion to bring fresh troops to the front, 
and then by a partial retreat led the British 
forward, enabling a division under Colo¬ 
nel Washington to attack them in the 
rear. Met by fire before and behind, 
the enemy soon succumbed in uncondi¬ 
tional surrender. Tarleton himself es¬ 
caped, but upwards of six hundred of 
his men fell into the hands of the Ameri- 


oBatc JD o £ t f©c£toiJcr 



1781 




i«ov0flu’o Tirtovv at Coluutuo 






















































40 



(ggflrflisw 



cans, with all the arms 
and baggage of the com¬ 
mand. Morgan’s victory 
was a brilliant one, his 
force being inferior to 
that of his adversary, and 
was largely the result of 
clear judgment and care¬ 
ful planning, backed by 
experienced troops. 

Although Tarleton’s 
command was destroyed, 
it was dangerous for Mor¬ 
gan to remain within 
reach of Cornwallis, who 
was sure to retaliate for 
the loss of his favorite 
regiment; and as soon as 
the battle was over a rapid 
retreat was begun, which, 
before the next morning, had carried the Americans well beyond the Broad 
River. Events proved the wisdom of this course, and the advantage thus gained 
i?8t barely sufficed to save them from the pursuing army, which was lightened by burning 
its heavy baggage, that the chase might be unimpeded. Greene also realized the 
importance of outwitting Cornwallis, and on learning of the victory started at once 
to join Morgan, at the same time sending messengers ahead to gather boats at all the 
rivers on the line of march, that everything might be in readiness when the troops 
arrived. Without this foresight all the strenuous efforts of Morgan would have come 
to naught, as successively at the Catawba and the Yadkin the Americans had only 
the river between them and their pursuers. 

Greene’s army, following close upon its general, joined Morgan’s division at 
Guilford, the ninth of February, and together they continued the flight to the Dan, 
where Kosciuszko, sent ahead by Greene, was preparing defences. The British 
were so close behind that it was only by employing a rear guard to engage them in 
skirmishes that the Americans succeeded in crossing the river ; when this was safely 
accomplished the skirmishing party followed rapidly, leaving the enemy baffled at the 
bank. The British had no boats, and as it was out of the question to ford under 
the fire of the Americans, they withdrew and gave up the chase. 

Greene soon returned to the country south of the Dan, and for some weeks har- 
rassed Cornwallis by raids on outlying divisions, and by intercepting his recruits and 
supplies. Every attempt to reach the Americans was frustrated by a rapid change of 
position, and after seriously fatiguing his army to no purpose, Cornwallis withdrew 
to rest his men and seek recruits. This gave Greene a like opportunity, and the 
militia, for which his aides had scoured the neighboring states while the British were 
being held in check, began to arrive in appreciable force. When sufficiently strength¬ 
ened, Greene, who saw the necessity of a battle which should cripple his adversary, 
even though himself obliged to retreat, marched to Guilford Court House, which he 



a t t ffiacstototv 


JHorflan’s iSetreat 































(jgorjgisw 



41 



had selected as an advantageous position. The next day, March fifteenth, the British 
accepted the challenge and boldly opened the attack. Greene’s forces, which number¬ 
ed somewhat over four thousand, were largely untrained militia, and at the first 
charge of the enemy, the firing line, thus constituted, broke and fled without offering 
any effective resistance. The Continentals, who were next behind, fought with 
steady regularity and twice repulsed the British, who only saved the day by the reck¬ 
less use of artillery fired through their own ranks. Greene withdrew in good order, 
but minus a large part of the militia, which failed to return after the first rout. 

Cornwallis, who lost in the neighborhood of six hundred men, took up his march to 
•Wilmington to refit before coming northward. Greene immediately followed him, 
although defeated and with his force reduced by desertion — his loss in battle being less 
than a third that of the British; but he was compelled by the continued desertion of 
militia to abandon the pursuit at the Deep River when almost up with the enemy. 

With the British forces divided, as they were by Cornwallis’s expedition to Virginia, 
it became necessary for Greene to choose between following the former to the North, 
and the alternative of moving against Lord Rawdon, who held Camden and a chain 
of fortified posts in South Carolina. He chose the latter plan, and quickly with¬ 
drawing from the vicinity of Cornwallis, that the latter might not detect his purpose in 
time to obstruct his movement, he marched for Camden, April second, and arrived that 
night at Hobkirk’s Hill, within a short distance of the enemy’s works. Rawdon, think¬ 
ing to surprise Greene, whom he knew to be as yet without artillery, led an attack early 
on the morning of April 
seventh, and succeeded 
in dislodging the Ameri¬ 
cans. Greene was sur¬ 
prised, but not unpre¬ 
pared, as he had camped 
his army in battle form to 
guard against this possi¬ 
bility. The struggle was 
sharp, and for some time 
the advantage appeared 
to be with the Ameri¬ 
cans, but at a critical 
moment one of those 
unnecessary weakenings, 
which had turned the 
scale against them on 
many other occasions, 
broke the formation, and 
seeing the inevitable re¬ 
sult, Greene withdrew 
his men while yet pos¬ 
sible to do so without 
sacrifice. 

Reinforcements 
reached Rawdon a few 


1781 


©reene's Campaign 








































42 (ggMli^) (&t0Y\ s*au 


weeks later, in spite of Lee and Marion, who, at the first inception of the plan, had 
been sent to cut off his supplies. With this added force, Rawdon started out early 
in May to reach, by a detour, a position in Greene’s rear, which he hoped to find 
unguarded. The sagacious general was not to be caught in such a simple manner, 
however, and changed his position for one so strong that the British feared to attack. 
Unable to dislodge Greene, and threatened by the latter’s outlying divisions, which 
had already taken Fort Watson, one of his important posts, Rawdon abandoned 
Camden, May tenth, and moved to the sea-coast. On his way he hoped to 
strengthen the garrison at Fort Motte, but he was too late, and arrived May twelfth, 
i 7 8j just in time to witness its surrender. Sumter had taken Orangeburg the day before, 
and Neilson’s Ferry and Fort Granby fell within a few days. Lee and Pickens 
with their divisions entered Georgia and captured Fort Galphin, May twenty-first, 
reaching Augusta, their objective point, a few hours later. Here they met deter¬ 
mined resistance. The two forts, Grierson and Cornwallis, were besieged, and 
the former, which was the weaker, was soon taken by Pickens, enabling him to go 
to the assistance of Lee, whose operations had so far had little effect on the strong 
garrison of Fort Cornwallis, which fought gallantly and held out with stubborn 
tenacity. The Americans were no less determined, however, and gradually weak¬ 
ening the defense by daily engagements, they finally assaulted the fort on June fifth, 
and forced its surrender. 

One of the strongest British posts in the South, and after the fall of Augusta the 
only one in that section remaining in their control, was Ninety-Six, Georgia. To 
this Greene directed his attention after recuperating his army, and opened systematic 




jparntington, Cljavlotttsbillt 

Designed by 
Thomas Jefferson 


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<& o u v t o tt g t f WLilliamuintv q V a ♦ 


Designed by Sir Christopher Wren 

siege operations, which, with the help of Lee, who had joined him after the victory 
of Augusta, had reduced the strong garrison to a point where surrender could not be 
long delayed, when the Americans received word of the approach of Lord Rawdon, 
who had again left the seaboard to come to the relief of the besieged post. Greene, , 7 ° I 
who was too weak to cope with such a force, reluctantly withdrew and led Rawdon 
a futile chase from point to point, until the latter, unable to disperse the Americans, 
and fearing to remain in the position he had come so far to sustain, withdrew from 
Ninety-Six, taking the garrison and loyalists, and returned finally to the coast. 

Thus the purpose of Greene’s campaign, apparently frustrated, was accomplished by 
the force of conditions his earlier work had created. 

Detachments of the American troops followed the retreating British to the out¬ 
skirts of Charleston, harassing them and preventing scattered raids and pillage. They 
also, as a result of engagements with outlying commands, captured upwards of one 
hundred and fifty prisoners, among whom were a number of officers. 

Lord Rawdon embarked for England early in July, and his successor, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Stewart, undertook to reoccupy the country from which Rawdon had been 
driven. He started, late in August, with between two and three thousand men, and 
camped on the Santee near Fort Motte. Greene, who was encamped in the neigh¬ 
boring hills, had rested and strengthened his army, and he set out on receipt of in- 


^SfSnrt» = siv JSUaruatrti 

































44 


HHP (ggorjgian 


formation of 
Stewart’s move¬ 
ments, to inter¬ 
cept the latter 
and at the same 
time to assail his 
communications 
by detachments 
in his rear. This 
plan was so suc¬ 
cessful that the 
British were 
obliged to with¬ 
draw to Eutaw 
Springs, some 
twenty miles 
down the river. 
Here they se¬ 
lected a strong 

position and awaited the Americans, who reached that vicinity September seventh, but 
were undiscovered until the morning of the eighth, a short time before they were ready 
to attack. The armies were evenly matched, and although the Americans pressed 
steadily forward and easily destroyed the enemy’s outer lines, the resistance was able and 
determined, and for a while seemed sufficient to hold the ground. At this point 
Greene’s superior tactics prevailed, and the Continentals, being formed in to replace 
the exhausted militia, which had so far borne bravely the brunt of the battle, charged 
/781 the British before they had time to recover from the fire of the militia, and pene¬ 
trating their line, drove them in disorder to the shelter of a brick building about 
which the camp was set. Unfortunately the victors were over-confident of suc¬ 
cess and scattered in search of plunder, with the result that the British were enabled 
to gather sufficient strength to render the final outcome doubtful, and Greene, bit¬ 
terly disappointed, yet ever watchful of the safety of his army, felt compelled to 
withdraw and trust to the severity of the blow he had inflicted to force the enemy 
to retreat. He took with him five hundred prisoners, making the British loss, with 
those left on the field, nearly a thousand; which, as was anticipated, decided Stewart 
to return to the coast, where the protection of the British ships formed their only 
stronghold. As before, detachments under Marion and Lee followed and harassed 
the retreating army, which, to be less encumbered, destroyed large quantities of 
stores, and left behind more than a thousand stands of arms. Greene retired, 
according to his custom, to gather reinforcements, and later moved to the vicinity of 
Charleston, where his presence served to restrain the British and check their raids on 
the surrounding country; but his work was practically done, and the South, the most 
cruelly devastated section of the Union, was, with the exception of a few points on 
the coast, freed from British dominion. 

Simultaneously with these victories in South Carolina came the master-stroke of 
the Revolution, — the operations about Yorktown which led to the surrender of Corn¬ 
wallis. The successive raids into Virginia had attracted attention to that quarter. 



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but the expedition under Phillips that added two thousand men to Arnold’s already 
strong force, and Cornwallis’s approach from the South, gave to the situation there 
an importance not hitherto possessed. 

W ashington, in his survey of existing conditions, realized the necessity of a decisive 
engagement that should successfully terminate the Revolution, which otherwise stood 
in grave danger of dissolution as a result of the apathy and incompetence of Congress, 
and the failure of the states not directly menaced, to continue the much-needed 
supplies of money and men. To this end he sought the cooperation of Rochambeau 
and his French troops, and the fleet under De Barras, recently arrived at Newport. 
The choice lay between New York and Yorktown, at either of which places the 
ships could cooperate with the land forces, an essential condition to the complete 
victory that Washington desired to ensure. His preference at first was for New 
York as offering the greater opportunity, and early in July a combined attack was 
made on the forts at the upper end of Manhattan. The attempt was fruitless as to 
its main issue, but it served to alarm Clinton, and caused him to withdraw further 
aid from Cornwallis ; it also served as a feint and enabled Washington to make un¬ 
suspected preparations for carrying out the alternative plan, to attack the forces now 
combined and entrenched at Yorktown. This plan gained opportune encouragement 
by the receipt of assurance of cooperation from Count De Grasse, who was on his 
way from the West Indies with another and larger fleet. 

Lafayette, whom Cornwallis unsuccessfully endeavored to isolate, had been joined 
by Wayne with his command, and together they had driven the British from the interior, 

engaging them at Williamsburg and Green Spring, and 
held them at bay at Yorktown. Neither Cornwallis 
nor Clinton had any idea that Washington would 
abandon New York with his main army, and this, 
with the operations already attempted, and the elabor¬ 
ate preparations made by the latter with the appar¬ 
ent purpose of continuing on the same lines, enabled 
the allied armies to slip away, leaving only a detach¬ 
ment to hold the British to Manhattan, and get 
well out of reach before Clinton discovered their 
absence. When he became aware of the move¬ 
ment he vainly endeavored to divert them from 
their purpose by sending Arnold, who had been un- 
appreciatively ordered north by Cornwallis, into 
Connecticut to ravage and excite the country. Forts 
Trumbull and Griswold, near New London, were 
taken, and at the latter, Colonel Ledyard and nearly 
a hundred of his men were murdered, after having 
surrendered in good faith. New London was burned 
to complete the wanton destruction. 

The armies under Washington crossed the Hud¬ 
son August nineteenth, and marching through Phila¬ 
delphia, arrived September eighth at the head of 
Chesapeake Bay, where they gathered transports 
and awaited the French fleet. De Grasse had 


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1781 


Designed by 
Thomas Jefferson 


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arrived at the entrance to 
the Chesapeake and was 
landing troops sent to re¬ 
inforce Rochambeau, when 
a British fleet under Ad¬ 
miral Graves appeared off 
the capes, and the French 
at once went out to meet 
it. The ensuing action, 
while not eminently de¬ 
cisive, was severely felt by 
the British, who lost one 
ship and were obliged to 
sail north to refit. On his 
return, De Grasse found 
awaiting him the squad¬ 
ron under De Barras, who 
had eluded the English fleet 
sent to intercept him, and 
arrived safely with trans¬ 
ports and siege tools, and together they proceeded up the bay and brought down 
the troops, which were landed at Williamsburg, September twenty-sixth. Joined 
by Lafayette and the French reinforcements, the combined armies, numbering in 
the neighborhood of sixteen thousand men, took up positions about Yorktown, Sep- 
tember twenty-eighth, and laid down the first lines of the siege. 

With the river, against which the town was set, and Gloucester Point, opposite, 
in the hands of the enemy, Yorktown was ill-adapted to successful defense, and 
Cornwallis soon found himself surrounded with steadily approaching armies. His 
first position was in trenches outside the town, but he was soon obliged to withdraw 
to the inner fortifications, while the besiegers occupied his abandoned works. Day 
by day the lines contracted and the heavy guns battered the defenses with steady ef¬ 
fectiveness. October fourteenth two outlying redoubts were taken, one by the 
Americans and one by the French, and Cornwallis, realizing the desperateness of his 
situation, resolved to stake all on an attempt to escape by the river. On the night of 
the sixteenth he embarked a detachment of his men which reached the opposite bank 
in safety, but the sudden advent of a storm frustrated his plan, and the troops already 
over were with difficulty brought back the following day. 

His last hope gone, Cornwallis sought terms of surrender, and on the eighteenth 
the articles were signed. The next day eight thousand men laid down their arms to 
the Americans, and the British ships with a thousand more were delivered to the 
French. The ceremony was very imposing, the conquered army assuming all the 
dignity permitted by the articles of surrender. Cornwallis remained in his quarters 
under plea of sickness, presenting his apologies to Washington through General 
O’Hara, who also delivered the British commander’s sword to General Lincoln, 
whom Washington, as a slight recompense for the former’s like humiliation at Char¬ 
leston, had appointed to receive it. 

The careful plan had been wrought out, the overwhelming blow had been struck; 


<£ o r u to a 1U a aurreutrera 



















47 



STrtjon fJ&l&ce Jteto-rOerite R.®. 


and although it could not be immediately known, the end of the Revolution had 
come. To Washington there yet appeared much need of continued effort, and great 
exertion was required on his part to prevent an easy relaxation after such a notable 
victory. King George was still insistent for war, and the British still held New York 
and Charleston. 

Further reinforcements were sent to Greene, who continued to watch Stewart at 
the latter place, and Washington withdrew his army to the highlands of the Hudson. 
Clinton, with late awakening to the danger of Cornwallis’s position, had started with 
a relief expedition and arrived at the entrance to the Chesapeake five days after the 
surrender. He immediately returned to New York, where the winter was quietly 
spent, and in the spring was succeeded by Sir Guy Carleton, whose appointment 
marked the accession of the peace party in Parliament, and whose mission was as 
much diplomatic as belligerent. 

Washington’s fear of further aggression and his appeals for continued vigilance, 
while justified by considerations of ordinary caution, and the unchanged attitude of 
King George, were happily unfounded, and events slowly but inevitably forwarded 
the termination of the war. 

In England, irresistible surgings of public opinion were steadily decreasing the bal- jy§ 2 
ance of power held by the King and his party, and by the first of March following 
the surrender at Yorktown they were reduced to a minority. King George, whose 
every measure in the history of the war had been too late for its opportunity, still 
clung to the hope of crushing the rebels, but he was practically alone, and before the 
month had passed. Lord North, his prime minister, was forced by the opposition in 
Parliament to dissolve his cabinet and resign the government to the Whigs. Rock¬ 
ingham came in at the head of the dominant party, 
but he was broken in health and died soon after, his 
place being taken by Lord Shelburne, then secre¬ 
tary of state. 

Franklin, to whose victories of diplomacy America’s 
standing abroad was chiefly due, had already opened 
negotiations with Shelburne; and with Richard Oswald, 
the latter’s agent, had drafted at Paris the terms of 
peace. After much diplomatic contention, in which 

No r t h Carolina 

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48 



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<£Vt art c s t o ti ji>„ C< 


Franklin was joined by John Adams, Henry 
f 7 S2 X Laurens, and John Jay; and Oswald by Henry 

Strachey, the preliminary articles were signed the 
thirtieth of November. It was nearly a year 
later, September twenty-third, 1783, when the 
final treaty was signed, but the work was done 
when the first draft was agreed to, and this country 
is indebted to the keenness and ability of its rep¬ 
resentatives, especially to 
Franklin, for much more 
advantageous terms than 
could reasonably have 
been expected. 

The troubles of the 
embryo nation having 
diminished with regard to 
England, the looseness 
and insufficiency of the 
central government be¬ 
came alarmingly apparent, 
and the army, the only 
real power, from being 
the instrument of liberty, 

threatened oppression of another form. All through the war the inability ot Congress to 
provide for the army had been an almost paralyzing difficulty, but in one way or another 
Washington had been able to bridge this condition and maintain an effective organi¬ 
zation. With the war ended and the urgency of action less apparent. Congress was 
at the point of abandoning the soldier with no provision for arrears of pay, and no as¬ 
surance of even remote recompense for the hardships endured and the battles won. 
J 7$3 The disaffection thus engendered permeated the entire army and needed but the lead¬ 
ership of an active spirit to rise to organized revolt. This leader was at hand in the 
person of Major John Armstrong, and through him the grievances of officers and men 
were declared in the form of a written address, in which the army was called upon to 
rise in its power and assume the government. Early in the previous year a some- 
*782 what similar movement had resulted in a proposition to crown Washington and de¬ 
clare him king ; but though touched by this evidence of devotion, his high character 
was proof against all allurement, and he unhesitatingly rejected the offer, denouncing 
the principle, and pointing out the priceless benefits of the liberty for which they had 
fought. This later and more determined demonstration called for more decisive ac¬ 
tion, as it was approved by the general body of officers, and a day appointed for in¬ 
augurating the plan. 

Filled with grief, alike for the necessities of his men and the danger of the nation, 
Washington rebuked the movement in general orders, and then, calling his officers to 
1783 meet him, he reviewed the seriousness of the step contemplated, and with deep 
emotion appealed to them to stand by him and their country, trusting to the final 
triumph of justice and the righting of their wrongs. Promising his continued efforts 
in their behalf, the general withdrew, and the officers, yielding to his entreaties. 


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South Carolina 


49 


the uprising. Alarmed £t9mne* <&oo$e CreeH j&Gt* 

by the imminence of this 
peril, Congresswasstirred 
to action, and by partial 
payment, and land war¬ 
rants, succeeded in paci¬ 
fying the troops, prepara¬ 
tory to disbandment. 

Wayne, whom Greene 
had sent, soon after his 
arrival from Yorktown, to 
operate in Georgia, drove 
the British out of Savan¬ 
nah the following July, and on the fourteenth of December the same year, two 
weeks after the preliminary treaty was signed at Paris, they evacuated Charleston. 
New York was now the only port held, and Carleton occupied that uneventfully 
during the following year, until the signing of the final treaty, September twenty-third, 
was announced. He departed in state, November twenty-fifth, and as the British 
marched to their boats, Washington, with Governor Clinton, entered from the north 
and took possession. By this final act the United States were freed from British sover¬ 
eignty, and the independence declared in I 776 was accomplished before the world. 

His work finished, Washington called his officers about him, and bade them fare¬ 
well with the simple dignity that had characterized his communion with them, but 
with deep emotion and fervent wishes for their future prosperity. In silence and in 
tears he embraced each one, and then, departing, made his way to the ferry, followed 
by the company, and, entering his barge, he raised his hat in final salute and began his 
homeward journey. What the Revolution could have been without Washington, is 
difficult to imagine. Through it all he stands preeminent, and continued study of 
his life serves but to further impress his greatness. To the wisdom and courage that 
planned his operations and effected them, were added nobleness and virtue that bound 
his army to him in bonds of love, that held when duty was forgotten. 

George III, to whose unwise activity the independence of the United States is 
due, was, with all his deficiencies in statecraft, an honest and patriotic ruler. Sur¬ 
rounded by scheming and intriguing politicians, with only here and there a straight¬ 
forward leader, it is little wonder that he became irretrievably committed to a policy 
in which there was, from his point of view, room for honest belief, and which his 
fawning courtiers were ever ready to extol. A complicated and disproportionate 

system of representation placed undue power 
in the hands of a few, while the great body of 
the people was very inadequately represented. 
These conditions, in times so degenerate, made 
it impossible for the King to gain his ends ex¬ 
cept by barter and intrigue, and we find him 
often the distracted victim of unfriendly and 
exacting cliques whose temporary strength 
forces recognition. 


1782 


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Believing fully in his divine right to govern, with every sentiment of hereditary 
prejudice outraged by the resistance of the colonists, King George, in his policy of 
subjection, was at least true to his natural instincts, for which we must allow while 
condemning the vindictive and oppressive measures resulting from it. Strong and 
unrelenting as was his enmity in war, his right-heartedness is evidenced by the 
equal sincerity of his friendliness when finally he realized the failure of his cause ; 
his prayer to this end expressed before Parliament, when, with emotion, he 
acknowledged England’s defeat, that “religion, language, interest and affection 
might prove a bond of permanent union between the two countries,” is a worthy 
tribute of magnanimity, but it has been tardy of fulfillment, and the century 
now closing has, from the beginning, witnessed strife, and jealousv, and unworthy 
suspicion. 

Recent events, however, have clearly revealed the underlying kinship and natural 
sympathy of the two nations, and notwithstanding the contention which must result 
from the conscientious discharge of duty by representatives of these governments, 
a warmer friendship is assured, which it is hoped will ultimately realize the contrite 
benediction of King George III. 




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(gfcarjjiim <§jgS|||i)5i 


ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES A COMPLETE CATALOGUE 
OF THE GEORGIAN PATTERN IS SHOWN. IT IS MADE IN 
STERLING SILVER ONLY (925-1000 FINE), AND MAY BE HAD IN 
CHEST COMBINATIONS OF GREAT VARIETY. AN IMPORTANT 
FEATURE OF THE GEORGIAN, AND A MARKED INNOVATION 
IN FLATWARE, IS THE EXTENSIVE LINE OF HOLLOW HANDLE 
SPOONS AND FORKS, WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY APPROPRI¬ 
ATE TO THIS PATTERN BECAUSE OF THIS ADDED SIMILI¬ 
TUDE TO THE IONIC COLUMN WHICH IS THE BASIS OF THIS 
DESIGN. 

THE PRODUCTS OF THIS MANUFACTORY ARE MARKETED 
THROUGH THE JEWELRY TRADE. 

THE TOWLE MFG. COMPANY DOES NO RETAIL BUSINESS. 




I N adopting the Georgian Style as a motive for this 
design, we recognize the wide and still growing appre¬ 
ciation of every manifestation of colonial architecture. 
While this style is more nearly indigenous than any other 
that the changing tastes of recent years have approved, —its 
precedent being identified with so much that is vital in the 
early history of our country, and its characteristics so 
amenable to existing conditions,—we must remember that 
plans and fittings were first brought from England, where, 
early in the reign of George III, the reproduction of 
classical designs became fashionable. 

Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren had long before 
revived and adapted the teachings of Palladio and other 
Italian masters, and their influence prepared the way for 
popular acceptance of the promulgations of James Stewart, 
who returned, in 1762, from extended residence and study 
in Greece. The first fruits of the application of a style 
developed by the needs of public and religious life in a mild 
climate, to the domestic requirements of England, were 
absurd in the extreme; but a growing recognition of its 
limitations evolved the charming if not pure style with 
which we are familiar. 

In the search for novelty its merits were for many years 
overlooked; but gradually the beauty of the old work has 
become apparent, and there is every reason to believe that 
the favor in which this style is now established will be 
lasting. 


m t v i a t i 0 u 


of Scstfin 























Tea Spoon, small, 
No. 13. 



52 
































































































































































































Dessert Fork, 
Nos. 26, 30 and 34. 


Pap Spoon. 


Table Fork, 
Nos. 35, 39 and 43. 



53 





















































































































54 







































































Preserve Spoon. 


(gjearj&i&ti 


Berry Spoon, small. 


Berry Spoon, large. 


55 












































Child's Knife. 




Child’s Fork. 



Salad 


Spo 


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56 










































































































Cheese Scoop, small. 


Cheese Scoop, large. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


•tcrumc 

Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 


Cold Meat Fork, 
small. 




57 






















































































































Chocolate 

Spoon. 


Horseradish 

Spoon. 




Chow-chow 

Spoon. 


Egg Spoon. 


Orange Spoon. 


Chocolate 

Muddler. 


Iced Tea 
Spoon. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRLINC 

Sterling Silver 


925 

i ooo 


FINE 


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Piccalilli Spoon 


Olive Spoon, 


<g*0r£*an 


Lettuce Fork. 


Lettuce Spoon 


59 































































Cream Ladle 


ACTUAL SIZE 


rrtnuMC 


Sterling Silver 


FINE 


Oyster Ladle 


Mustard Spoon. 


Punch Ladle. 


k ’ 


iii C 

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Soup Ladle 


Gravy Ladle. 


Bouillon Ladle 


61 













Oyster Fork. 


(g*0rj&i&u 

Lobster Fork. Pastry Fork. 


Chow-chow Fork. 


Individual 
Salad Fork. 


Individual 
Fish Fork. 


Pickle Fork. 


62 




















































































































































































<g*0r£iim 


Patty Server. 


V^UUUIHUCI JCI VCI. 


STCIIUNC 

Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 


Asparagus Fork. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


64 


















































Sugar Sifter 



(gtcnrjsi&n 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Croquette Server, 


CTCROMC 

Sterling Silver 


Tomato Server 


65 




















































(gtorjetfati 


Sugar Shaker. 


Vegetable Spoon. 


Pudding Spoon. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


STCRLINC 

Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 


66 

























































Almond Scoop. 


ACTUAL SIZE 




67 
















































ACTUAL SIZE 



STCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 



68 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































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Lemon Server, 














































ACTUAL SIZE 


Bonbon Scoop, 





Vegetable Fork. 


Bread Fork. 


Sterling Silver 

925 


1000 


FINE 


71 






















































Butter Spreader. 



ACTUAL SIZE 



STCRLINC 


Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 


Butter Knife. 



72 


























































Jelly Knife, 


(gfcorjftiim 


Cheese Knife, 









































74 





















































Confection Spoon. 


ACTUAL SIZE 




stchunc 

Sterling Silver 


Waffle Server. 





Cracker Scoop. 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Ice Cream Slicer, H.H. 




Crumb Knife. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


&TCRUNC 

Sterling Silver 


925 

1000 


FINE 



Ice Cream Server. 


77 
























































































































































































































































































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78 































































































































































































































































Tea Spoon, P. M. 


(g*0r£iau 


Pap Spoon. 


Tea Spoon. 


Dessert Spoon. 


Table Spoon. 


Hollow Handles. 


1000 


FINE 












































































































(gtorjaimr 


Cake Knife. 




Table Fork. 


Hollow Handles. 


Berry Spoon. 


ACTUAL SIZE 


Sterling Silver 

925 

FINE 


1000 





































































Salad Spoon. 


(gfcorj&i&u 


Salad Fork. 


Cream Ladle. 


Hollow Handles 


82 




































































































Serving Spoon. 



ACTUAL SIZE 


4TCRUNC 

Sterling Silver 


83 


Ind. Salad Fork. 




Entree Fork. 



Hollow Handles. 








































































































8 4 





















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































85 


.... 
































































































































































































































































































































Medium Knife, 




Fruit Knife. 



Hollow Handles. 


ACTUAL SIZE 



6TCRUNC 


Sterling Silver 


925 

IOOO 


FINE 























































Steak Fork 




Steak Carver, 



Child’s Spoon. 



Hollow Handles. 



1000 



























































































amm, 


FACSIMILE OF DRAWING MADE BY THOMAS NAST IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF 

A GEORGIAN BOOK 








sm. 







(faton 5 Ian' 



COLONIAL HISTORY ATTRACTIVELY ARRANGED 

AND ILLUSTRATED 

COLONIAL (250TH Thousand) 

GEORGIAN (iooth Thousand) 

PAUL REVERE (6oth Thousand) 

NEWBURY (6oth Thousand) 

BENJ. FRANKLIN (1906) 

EITHER OF ABOVE PREPAID TO ANY ADDRESS 
IN PAMPHLET FORM FIFTEEN CENTS IN POSTAGE 
OR SIXTY CENTS FOR THE SERIES OF FIVE 
FIRST FOUR IN BOUND VOLUME ONE DOLLAR 

TOWLE MFG. COMPANY, SILVERSMITHS 

Newburyport Massachusetts 
























































































I I 


HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS 
of the TOWLE MFG. COMPANY 

COLONIAL PAUL REVERE 

GEORGIAN B EN 'J FRANKLIN 

NEWBURY LA FAYETTE 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































